Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper are expected to run for the open U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. The two announcements set the stage for a competitive, expensive race in the battleground state.
A long-time party favorite, Democrats have pushed Cooper to enter the race, with North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat seen as a must-win if Democrats hope to take over the chamber after the 2026 midterms. Axios first reported Cooper’s decision to run.
Cooper has served in North Carolina state government since 1986, including 10 years in the state legislature, four terms as the state attorney general and two terms as governor. Cooper has never lost an election.
As governor, Cooper passed Medicaid expansion, but his time in office was largely defined by tensions with Republicans in the state legislature. Cooper previously teased the idea of a Senate run at the end of his governorship.
“I’m not done yet,” Cooper said in his farewell remarks.
For his part, Whatley has spent his career dedicated to Republican politics. He previously served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, served as former Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s chief of staff and was part of President George W. Bush’s recount efforts in Florida. Whatley helped President Donald Trump’s campaign organize rallies in North Carolina during his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.
Trump is expected to endorse Whatley and clear his path through the primaries to the midterm election.
“The president feels Whatley has earned his shot,” one of the people familiar with Whatley’s plans told Politico.
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The winner of the open seat will replace Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who announced he wouldn’t run for reelection last month after voting against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, previously considered a run for the seat, but announced on X on Thursday that she had decided against a campaign.
“After much consideration and heartfelt discussions with my family, friends and supporters, I have decided not to pursue the United States Senate seat in North Carolina at this time,” she wrote.
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