Shaking up everyone’s predictions for the 2026 election, Michael Whatley, the RNC Chair, has announced his candidacy for a US Senate seat in North Caroline. Backed by President Trump, Whatley is facing off against former Governor Roy Cooper in what looks to be a highly competitive race.
For context, the RNC chair has blasted his opponents’ ties to far-left Democrats, while Cooper criticised the Republican as a D.C. insider. Regardless of party, both sides expect this to be an expensive race, which will determine who will replace retiring Senator Thom Tillis.
Announcing his candidacy in a confident address, the senatorial hopeful established his connection to President Trump. He said, “President Trump deserves an ally, and North Carolina deserves a strong conservative voice in the Senate. I will be that voice.”
Explaining the vital importance of this race, Whatley added, “This midterm election cycle is going to be absolutely huge, and North Carolina is going to be the marquee Senate race in the country. And I’m absolutely thrilled that President Trump has asked me to run in this race.”
Turning to his opponent, the ambitious GOP leader slammed the woke Democrat. He noted, “Roy Cooper may pretend to be different from the radical extremists that run today’s Democrat Party, but he is all in on their agenda. You just have to take a look at his record. … We are going to call him out on his record. These are not just wild suppositions that we’re going to make.”
Speaking honestly about the resources necessary to win the North Carolina Senate seat, the RNC chair stated, “We will be the most expensive Senate race in the history of the country. But, look, we will be able to raise the resources we need to tell our story, and we are going to work all 100 counties here across North Carolina to be able to tell our story.”
Concluding his remarks, the Republican candidate described the advantage the GOP has when speaking to voters. He declared, “It’s a story about how Republicans win in North Carolina. We listen to the voters. We understand the issues that they care about, and we put solutions on a table.”
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Reacting to Whatley’s confident statement, Democratic National Committee communications director Rosemary Boeglin tried to combat his soaring rhetoric. She whined, “Now, Whatley is heading back to North Carolina to sell Trump’s budget betrayal that took health care away from more than 650,000 North Carolinians and spiked costs for working families,” adding, “Trump and Whatley’s toxic agenda will hang around Whatley like an albatross.”
Issuing another bitter response, Cooper campaign manager Jeff Allen complained, “Michael Whatley is a D.C. insider and big oil lobbyist who supports policies that are ripping health care away from North Carolinians and raising costs for middle-class families.”
Concluding his remarks, Allen stated, “North Carolinians don’t need a lobbyist as their senator, and voters will have a clear choice between Whatley’s long career as a Beltway insider against Roy Cooper’s record of putting partisanship aside to get results for North Carolina.”
Featured image Wikimedia