Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is running for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat, entering what’s shaping up to be one of the most competitive and consequential races of the 2026 election cycle.
The “Whatley for Senate” campaign filed paperwork on Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission to begin his Senate bid. He also filed his “Statement of Candidacy” with the FEC. Whatley has not released an announcement statement or video, but the federal filings are a step toward formalizing a Senate run.
Recommended Stories
- FDA commissioner predicts 'record' drug approvals this year
- US economy 'performance' will determine GOP's midterm chances: Joe Concha
- White House banks on GDP report bringing good news in inflation and jobs data
Whatley’s campaign kickstart sets the stage for a high-stakes general election contest with former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who launched his campaign earlier this week. The seat is open following Sen. Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) decision not to seek a third term, upending the political landscape in a state long considered a battleground.
The RNC chairman enters the race with the backing of President Donald Trump, who has given him his “complete and total endorsement.” As RNC chairman, Whatley has worked closely with the Trump campaign and national Republicans to align party strategy heading into the midterm elections.
Whatley’s entry follows the decision by Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, to decline a Senate bid, prompting party leaders to rally around him quickly. Multiple sources confirm the president and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) personally encouraged Whatley to jump into the race, signaling unified GOP support.
A longtime North Carolina operative, Whatley was chairman of the state GOP and has deep ties to party infrastructure and national donors.
Still, Whatley remains relatively unknown to many North Carolina voters outside of political circles. As one GOP strategist previously told the Washington Examiner, “He has the support of every major Republican figure in the state, but he’s still introducing himself to most voters.”
Democrats have coalesced around Cooper, who launched his campaign days before and raised $3.4 million in the first 24 hours, a record-setting haul that signaled the start of a high-dollar, high-intensity race. Cooper, a two-term governor, is campaigning on his executive record, pointing to Medicaid expansion, education funding, and handling of COVID-19.
Tillis, the retiring Republican incumbent whose seat Cooper is seeking, praised the former governor’s political skills but sharply critiqued his legislative record.
“He left as a relatively popular governor,” Tillis said, speaking to reporters on Tuesday. But he argued that Cooper’s past votes in the state legislature, and his clashes with GOP lawmakers as governor, worked against the very policies that helped drive North Carolina’s economic growth.
“The economy in North Carolina got put on steroids beginning in 2011,” Tillis said. “All those things happened under Republican control, in spite of Governor Cooper’s efforts to hold them back.”
Still, Tillis acknowledged Cooper’s political network and fundraising power, calling it a serious factor in the race. “We shouldn’t discount that he won when I did and the president did,” he added.
DEMOCRATS BELIEVE ROY COOPER IS A ‘GAME-CHANGER’ IN NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE
The race is expected to be among the most expensive and closely watched in the country. Republicans have won seven of the last eight Senate contests in North Carolina, but the state has remained competitive at the federal level, with both parties spending heavily in recent cycles.
Trump carried the state by just over 3 points in 2024, and Senate races have followed a similar pattern: Tillis narrowly defeated Democrat Cal Cunningham in 2020, and Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) beat former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley by roughly 3 points in 2022. Now, with unaffiliated voters outnumbering both Democrats and Republicans, the state’s political landscape is more competitive than ever.