After Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced in late June that he wouldn’t be seeking a third term, speculation ran high that former RNC co-chair Lara Lea Trump, a Wilmington native who now resides in Florida, was mulling jumping into the race to replace him.
Mrs. Trump, a Fox News weekend show host, and also President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, shut down the rumors last Thursday, tweeting, “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.”
That same day, news broke that RNC Chairman Michael Whatley was getting ready to declare his entry into the race with the blessing of the POTUS:
Trump is optimistic that Whatley, who ran the state party in North Carolina before becoming RNC chair, has the knowledge of the state, the national profile and the network of relationships to mount a strong campaign to replace Tillis, who announced his retirement last month after opposing the sweeping domestic policy agenda bill backed by the president.[…]Republicans believe Whatley’s connections with donors will be an asset in what will likely be one of the most expensive races in next year’s elections.
A week later, Whatley has done just that, announcing his intentions on X and thanking Trump for his support:
Whatley has already come out swinging, criticizing former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) for his handling of Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, among other things:
Whatley, I should note, was the chairman of the NCGOP in 2022 when the state bucked national trends and had its own red wave.
Cooper, meanwhile, made it official on Monday, in a stereotypical folksy, aw-shucks video designed to appeal to the working-class voters who have been abandoning the Democratic Party in droves:
Cooper, too, is already throwing jabs which are … missing the mark:
The DNC was said to have heavily recruited Cooper to run, feeling his two terms as governor, along with his extensive background in state government, gave Cooper a decided advantage in terms of name recognition in the state over any of his competitors.
Cooper is, in fact, the definition of a career politician, having served in the state legislature from 1987 to 2000, before moving on to the AG position from 2001 to 2016, and then governor from 2017 to 2025.
But is name recognition a good thing in North Carolina? If you’re Cooper, it doesn’t look like it’s an advantage so far – and may, to some extent, be working against him. Early polling is showing both him and Whatley, who are likely to be the nominees barring any surprises, very close so far:
That, and the fact that Cook Political has this race listed as a “toss-up,” has some political observers here in the state pointing out how “remarkable” it is considering how well known Cooper is in North Carolina in comparison to Whatley:
In 2016, Cooper rode the anti-HB2 wave into office, aided and abetted by a state political media machine that is second only to the Acela media in terms of devotion to leftist causes. And in 2020, voters stuck with the status quo here amid the COVID pandemic.
But the stakes are even higher now, and Cooper has given his critics an awful lot to work with that can be used against him in the coming months. Cooper has never lost an election, but if Trump, Whatley, and Republicans in the Tar Heel State have their way about it, this will be his first.
It’s gonna be a wild ride, so buckle up and stay tuned.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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