Michael Whatley — the Republican National Committee chairman who helped Donald Trump carry North Carolina in multiple elections — is expected to seek the GOP nomination for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, people directly familiar with Whatley’s plans told WRAL.

The decision sets up a likely battle between two political heavyweights in what is expected to be one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races in 2026. Former Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to announce his bid for the Democratic nomination in the coming days.

Whatley led the North Carolina Republican Party for five years and helped the state party secure key victories in state and federal races. A strong fundraiser, Whatley is expected to be backed by Trump, a person familiar with the party’s strategy said. That could prove to be critical in a race against Cooper, who is undefeated in statewide elections and managed to win in years when Trump won the state’s electoral college votes.

Republicans are seeking to retain the seat that incumbent Republican U.S. Sen Thom Tillis will vacate at the end of his term. Tillis last month said he wouldn’t seek reelection after opposing Trump-backed legislation — the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill — because it would end Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. His opposition widened a rift between Tillis and Trump. After Trump said he would consider endorsing other Republicans for the seat, Tillis ended his reelection plans.

Whatley, who was named RNC chairman after being endorsed by Trump, served alongside Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who was RNC co-chair. Lara Trump, a Wilmington native, had been considering a run for the seat but announced on social media Thursday that she had decided against it.

“I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support I have received from the people of my home state whom I love so much,” Lara posted on X. “While I am not running in this election, my passion for Making America Great Again burns brightly, and I look forward to the future, wherever that leads.”

Whatley didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did Trump. A spokesperson for the RNC also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former lieutenant governor candidate Andy Nilsson and former congressional candidate Don Brown have announced their intentions to seek the GOP nomination. However, Republicans had expected bigger names to seek the president’s blessing to enter the race.

During his time as the state party chair, Whatley helped the Republicans gain control of the state Supreme Court and state Court of Appeals and gain veto-proof supermajorities in the state House and the Senate. Trump also won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020 with the help of Whatley.

Lara Trump also recently considered a Senate run in Florida late last year after President Donald Trump picked then-senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, creating an opening for an appointment by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. She eventually decided to remove her name from consideration.

About Whatley

While Whatley has never sought elected office, he has been a Trump ally for years and Republican insiders say he’s well-equipped to run for office because of his familiarity with both the state and the GOP’s political apparatus in North Carolina. That could prove useful in next year’s elections. Historically, the political party that controls Washington struggles to generate turnout in midterm elections.

Whatley grew up in Watauga County and, as a high school student, volunteered for the late Sen. Jesse Helms’ 1984 reelection campaign. He then began his professional career in politics as a legal advisor for the George W. Bush campaign, helping with the 2000 recount in Florida. He transitioned to the U.S. Department of Energy under Bush and then worked as chief of staff for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a North Carolina Republican, before going into the energy sector.

When Whatley returned to North Carolina in 2015, he was among the first Republicans to support Trump in the GOP primary. Whatley then served as an advisor to the Trump campaign while continuing to work primarily as an energy consultant until 2019, when he ran for chair of the state party.

Party operatives have praised Whatley for stabilizing the state party after its former chairman, Robin Hayes, was indicted for lying to federal officials amid a bribery investigation. And Trump has credited Whatley for helping him carry North Carolina and re-take the presidency.

In a December social media post endorsing Whatley’s bid to remain RNC chair, Trump praised Whatley as a “smart, tough lawyer who put together a completely unprecedented election integrity operation” while organizing a get-out-the-vote campaign “that delivered the votes we needed in every battleground state.”

In a surprising turn of events, Republican Senator Thom Tillis announced that he will not seek reelection next year, opening a competitive race for the North Carolina Senate seat he’s held for a decade.

The immediate question on everyone’s mind: “What does Lara Trump decide to do?”

Andy Yates, a Republican strategist based in North Carolina, encapsulates the buzz surrounding the open seat. Trump, a Wilmington native, wife of Eric Trump, daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump and current Fox News host, is reportedly weighing a run for the Senate in the Tar Heel State.

Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley is expected to jump into the US Senate race in North Carolina after Lara Trump once again decided to pass on a run, according to a report.

Whatley, who has helmed the RNC since March last year, is poised to face off against Democratic former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is rumored to be kicking off his campaign within the coming days for what is expected to be a bruising contest, Politico reported.

Democrats widely view North Carolina’s Senate contest as one of their best pickup opportunities in the 2026 cycle after Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) seat.

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Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who currently holds the seat, announced late last month that he won’t be seeking re-election following a high-profile clash with President Trump over his opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Tillis has held that seat since 2015.

Speculation quickly swirled that Lara Trump, who was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, was weighing a potential Senate bid.

3 RNC Chair Michael Whatley is expected to announced a bid for North Carolina’s US Senate seat within days. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post

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3 Lara Trump has repeatedly declined to run for Senate despite her name being floated for multiple openings. ZUMAPRESS.com

Trump’s daughter-in-law had served with Whatley on the RNC as the party’s co-chair from March last year until January.

Lara Trump publicly confirmed on Thursday that she decided to pass on a run for the North Carolina Senate seat after having “heartfelt discussions with my family, friends, and supporters.”

“I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support I have received from the people of my home state whom I love so much,” she said on X.

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“While I am not running in this election, my passion for Making America Great Again burns brightly, and I look forward to the future, wherever that leads.”

Lara Trump, who is married to Eric Trump, previously passed on a chance to run for the Old North Star State Senate seat in 2022, which is now held by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), and the Florida Senate seat that opened up after her father-in-law tapped Marco Rubio as secretary of state.

She currently hosts an eponymous “My View” Fox News show, where she’s interviewed party bigwigs such as her father-in-law, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and others.

Prior to succeeding Ronna McDaniel as the RNC chair, Whatley had chaired the North Carolina Republican Party from 2019 to 2024. During that time, he won favor with Trump by backing efforts to contest the 2020 election results.

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3 President Trump had tapped Michael Whatley as RNC chair last year. Getty Images

Behind the scenes, Republicans have scrambled to find a strong contender to defend the open North Carolina Senate seat.

While Trump won the Old North Star State last November, the GOP was clobbered in the gubernatorial race after Republican Mark Robinson faced a litany of scandals, such as alleged resurfaced postings made on pornography forum Nude Africa.

Since January, the National Republican Senatorial Committee had been quietly floating Whatley as a potential contender to replace Tillis, a GOP operative told The Post.

NRSC Chairman Tim Scott, who hails from South Carolina, personally met with Whatley about the issue and internal polling indicated that a Trump-aligned Republican would have the best prospects of winning, the operative said.

Republicans, who currently have a 53–47 majority, will have to defend 22 of the 35 seats in the upper chamber up for grabs in 2026.

Historically, the party in the White House faces headwinds in midterm elections, but that hasn’t always been the case for Senate races.

Sen. Thom Tillis’ decision not to run for reelection has shaken up North Carolina’s 2026 Senate race.

Tillis was considered one of the few Republican senators willing to break party lines in recent years to work with Democrats on bipartisan legislation. Tillis supported infrastructure legislation and a gun safety law under the Biden administration.

What You Need To Know Republican Sen. Thom Tillis will not run for reelection in 2026

Tillis made the announcement after clashing with President Donald Trump over the president’s budget and policy bill

The president floated his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as a possible GOP nominee

Democrats are starting to consider candidates for the seat, including a possible run by former Gov. Roy Cooper

This year, Tillis has primarily voted in line with most Republicans, supporting President Donald Trump’s controversial nominees for the Pentagon and Department of Health and Human Services.

But in June, Tillis broke with the president to vote against his sweeping tax and spending bill. Tillis was concerned about the legislation’s changes to Medicaid and how they would impact North Carolina. He received major pushback from Trump.

A few days before the vote, Tillis announced he would not seek reelection.

“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” Tillis wrote.

The North Carolina Senate race is critical for Democrats to flip in 2026 if they want to retake control of the Senate. There are few opportunities for Democrats to flip the needed four seats. Potential targets include North Carolina, Maine, Ohio, Iowa and Texas.

Asked whether Tillis’ exit will help Democrats, Western Carolina University politics professor Chris Cooper said, “I think it might make it a hair easier for the Democrats to win.”

Tillis has a rocky relationship with the Republican Party in North Carolina, which previously censured him.

“Thom Tillis was going to get some slings and arrows from the Republican Party,” Cooper said. “But at the end of the day, they were going to show up and vote for him. I mean what Republican is going to choose a Democrat over Thom Tillis even though they might be frustrated with him.”

The question now is who will run for Tillis’ seat in the North Carolina Republican primary.

While former United States Navy JAG Officer and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Brown was running against Tillis, the senator hadn’t attracted any well-known opponents.

Now, the biggest wildcard is Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who’s previously been floated as a Senate candidate in North Carolina and Florida.

She is a Florida resident and would need to move back to North Carolina by September to run.

“She’s obviously telegenic, she’s obviously someone well connected, she has some roots in the state, but other than that, I don’t think we really know a lot about her, what her policy ideas are,” Cooper said.

If she runs, she’d likely get the endorsement of the president and potentially clear much of the Republican field. Trump’s endorsement has major sway in Republican primary races.

In 2022, then-Rep. Ted Budd picked up the endorsement of Trump and was able to easily beat former Gov. Pat McCrory and former Rep. Mark Walker.

Despite the attention on Lara Trump, Rep. Greg Murphy told Spectrum News her decision won’t impact his decision on running, which he said is something he would “consider.”

“Won’t affect me whatsoever,” Murphy said.

Freshman Rep. Pat Harrigan has also been floated as a candidate, and there are numerous other potential people that could emerge.

A few members of the North Carolina congressional delegation have said they won’t run, including Rep. Richard Hudson and Rep. Tim Moore, who told Spectrum News “it’s not something I’m seriously considering.”

The only declared Democrat in the Senate race is former congressman Wiley Nickel.

All eyes though are on former Gov. Roy Cooper, who hasn’t announced whether he will run.

If Cooper doesn’t run, numerous names have been floated as potential candidates that could get in the race.

Whoever comes out of the primaries will face a grueling general election that could be one of the most expensive in the country.

“Let’s say that we get what we think we’re going to get which is a pretty MAGA-aligned, Donald Trump-aligned candidate. We know that the party of the president doesn’t tend to do well in Midterms. Maybe that opens the door a little bit more for a Democrat. But anybody who thinks this is not going to be competitive is kidding themselves,” said Chris Cooper, the politics professor who is not related to the former governor.

RNC Chair Michael Whatley plans to run for an open Senate seat in North Carolina. That’s according to two people familiar with his thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t permitted to speak on the record.

President Trump, according to one of the people, asked him to make the run after Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, mulled the seat.

Politico first reported news of Whatley’s plans.

The news comes after Axios and The New York Times reported that former .

Democrats see North Carolina as their top pickup opportunity next year after Sen. Thom Tillis announced his surprise retirement after clashing with Trump.

While Lara Trump had been seen as having the right of first refusal, Whatley is considered by national Republicans to be a strong contender for the seat, thanks, in part, to the large fundraising network he’s cultivated as RNC chair and his perceived loyalty to the president. He’s a well-known name in the state, having served as GOP chair there, and has no voting record that could be used against him by Democrats.