Trump-backed RNC chair jumps into 'marquee' Senate race in battleground North Carolina

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley made it official on Thursday, as he announced his bid for a GOP-held Senate seat in battleground North Carolina.

Whatley's campaign launch, at an event in his hometown of Gastonia, N.C., comes a week after President Donald Trump endorsed Whatley and urged him to run.

The move by the RNC chair also comes four days after Democrats landed their top Senate recruit of the 2026 cycle to date, as former two-term Gov. Roy Cooper declared his candidacy in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.

Cooper's campaign launch bolsters the Democrats' chances of flipping a key GOP-held seat as they try to take a big bite out of the Republicans' 53-47 Senate majority.

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