RNC Chairman Michael Whatley starts run for Senate seat

The chairman of the Republican National Committee officially launched a bid for U.S. Senate on Thursday afternoon. He hopes to take the seat of outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. who will not pursue reelection in November 2026.

“I am humbled and excited to begin this campaign, and I would be honored to earn your vote, your support, and your prayers,” Michael Whatley wrote on social media.

Whatley has received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

What’s at stake with the race for North Carolina’s seat? Republicans hold a narrow majority in the Senate with 53 seats. On a range of issues, that tight margin has forced the chamber’s leadership to carefully build consensus with Republican lawmakers like Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Losing one more seat would make it increasingly difficult for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to advance Republican priorities over objections from within his own party.

Notably, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed the Senate by only one vote, with Vice President J.D. Vance breaking the 50-50 tie. Similarly, the confirmation of Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, also came down to a tie vote broken by the vice president.

If the GOP manages to secure Tillis’ open seat, Democrats may hope to use internal Republican disagreements to hold up the Trump administration’s priorities on things like nominations, foreign aid, and more.

What are the political stakes in North Carolina? A majority of Tar Heels voted for Trump in 2024 and the state proved an important battleground for Republicans in the House of Representatives. But Trump came away with just a four-point victory over Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The state also elected a Democratic governor in Josh Stein who won handily over the scandal-ridden Republican candidate Mark Robinson. Stein won by a comfortable margin of nearly 15 percentage points.

The Cook Political Report has assessed the current Senate race as a toss-up.

Democrats hope to test their reach in North Carolina through the Senate race ahead of the 2028 Presidential Election—a state that could prove pivotal in that contest.

Who is Whatley up against? He faces a formidable Democratic opponent in former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

Cooper, who held the state’s top job from 2017-2024, leads Whatley in a recent Emerson College poll. Forty-seven percent of respondents said they would vote for Cooper if the election were held today over the 41% who said they preferred Whatley. Cooper has also demonstrated formidable fundraising abilities. He broke an all-time fundraising record for the first 24 hours as a Senate candidate, bringing in an astonishing $3.4 million on Tuesday, according to his campaign.

The Whatley campaign has yet to announce any fundraising figures. But as chairman of the RNC, Whatley is also expected to bring in wide support. One of the key duties of the RNC chairman is to support Republican candidates across the country with financial support.

Dig deeper: North Carolina was critical for Republicans in the House of Representatives in 2024. That one state alone has brought in five new Republican legislators who all share similar priorities. Read my reporting on the group of North Carolina freshmen in the 119th Congress.