Gastonia, North Carolina (AP) – Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley It launched its North Carolina Open U.S. Senate seat campaign on Thursday, featuring President Donald Trump’s approval and a massive fundraising network for potential general election bids against formidable Democrats. Roy Cooper.
The contest is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive 2026 races. Speaking at an event held at an old textile factory near Charlotte, Whatley pledged her loyalty to the president. He will be a major focus for both swing states where Trump had one of his smallest winning margins last year.
“I’m proud to stand with him and fight every day for every family in every community,” Whatley said. “President Trump deserves an ally, and North Carolina deserves a strong conservative voice in the Senate. I’m sure I’ll be that voice.”
Whatley led the state Republican Party for almost five years before being elected chairman of the Republican National Committee with Trump’s support 17 months ago. He aims to succeed in GOP Senator Tom Tillisbarely a month ago He announced he would not run in the third term. After clashing with Trump.
Whatley’s execution plan was published a week ago, and then Trump said on social media that Whatley would “make an incredible senator from North Carolina” and that he would have my full and full support. Whatley took part in the race after Whatley and Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, the North Carolina co-chairman.
Opportunistic Democrats about Cooper are calling his views to extremes
Earlier this week, the Democrats of the race took shape earlier this week as former second term governor Cooper announced he would run on Monday. The next day, former US Congressman Wiley Nickel ended his campaign and approved Cooper.
Cooper’s entry brings optimism to the party I’m aiming to regain the Senate In 2026, there was a net profit of four seats. This is a year in which many Senate races are in the state, and Trump won easily in 2024.
National Republican campaign strategists say Cooper’s entry will make North Carolina a difficult seat for the party to host, but Democrats have not beaten Senate competition in the usually competitive state of North Carolina since 2008.
At least two lesser known Republican candidates are seeking GOP nominations. Applications for candidates begin in December and primary elections will take place in March. But Whatley spent his launch speech targeting Cooper, accusing him of “providing voters with an extreme, radical left ideology – open borders, inflation spending, weak America.”
“I believe in a better America in North Carolina and a stronger America,” he added.
Whatley leaves the RNC post
Having won a small vote for North Carolina electors, Trump supported Whatley in all three times he ran for president. Replace Kuomintang Chairman Rona McDaniel Early last year. Whatley joked to an Iowa audience in April. Trump was so pleased with his job as a chair that he offered Whatley the job he wanted in Trump’s administration, as long as he stayed as a chair.
However, due to his campaign bid, Whatley leaves the chairman’s post. RNC members are expected to vote for successors in Atlanta next month. Trump supported Florida Sen. Joe Gluters. Joe Gluters was former Florida Republican Chairman and is now treasurer for the RNC and co-chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign in Florida.
Although he has never been elected to a government office without a voting record, Whatley promoted the president’s agenda and led the party’s equipment that helped him get elected in 2024. That’s why he is repeatedly asked to defend many Trump initiatives.
Whatley, 56, grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina. His first major foray into politics took place in high school when he volunteered for Senator Jesse Helms’ reelection campaign in 1984. He received his degree in law and theology from Notre Dame University.
Whatley was on a team of lawyers working on behalf of George W. Bush to challenge the results of the 2000 presidential contest. He won jobs in the Department of Energy and the Bush administration, and then two years of stint worked for former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole. He later worked for the oil and gas company.
Medicaid reduction is a problem
In his speech on Thursday, he spent time between Thursday’s speech, highlighting that he is considering many of Trump’s achievements, including the Republican remake.
But Whatley needs to follow the parts that include some of Trump’s new laws Pulling back Medicaid, North Carolina officials say it threatens compensation for the expansion of hundreds of thousands of people. It was Cooper who reached a bipartisan agreement with state Republicans in 2023. Provides an extension of Medicaid.
Cooper’s campaign criticized Whatley as “a DC insider and massive oil lobbyist who supports policies that rip off health care from North Carolinians and increase costs for middle-class families.” In a news release, Cooper campaign manager Jeff Allen added that Cooper has a “record of putting aside partisanship to achieve North Carolina results.”
At the end of his tenure as state president, Whatley encouraged early voting, highlighting efforts to protect “election integrity,” as well as online fundraising and volunteer training. He cited Republican election victory in North Carolina’s court of appeals and general meetings. However, as Cooper won a second term in 2020, Democrats continued to take control of the governor’s mansion.
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Robertson reported that he reported from Raleigh, North Carolina, Des Moines, Iowa.
