Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley is scheduled to announce his bid for a North Carolina Senate seat on Thursday afternoon in his hometown of Gastonia, WRAL News first reported.
The White House confirmed to Newsmax last week that Whatley would run for the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who butted heads with President Donald Trump over the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act and announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026. Whatley’s campaign committee filed with the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday, according to the report.
With his announcement, Whatley would become the front-runner for the Republican nomination to most likely square off against former two-term North Carolina Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper, who announced his bid earlier this week.
Whatley will have at least two challengers for the GOP nod; former lieutenant governor candidate Andy Nilsson and former congressional candidate Don Brown told WRAL they will stay in the race.
A Whatley-Cooper contest in November 2026 would promise to be one of the most expensive Senate contests in 2026 and possibly ever, experts say.
Cooper set a Senate campaign record with $3.4 million raised in the first 24 hours of his candidacy, shattering the previous record by nearly $1 million. Whatley is a fundraising giant as head of the RNC who helped the GOP win House and Senate majorities and return Trump to the White House in 2024. Whatley is also the former chair of the state GOP in North Carolina.
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Author: Dillon B
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