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Michael Whatley
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Michael Whatley (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent North Carolina. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Whatley (Republican Party) was an officeholder of the Republican Party Chair. He assumed office on March 8, 2024. He left office on August 22, 2025.
Biography
Whatley received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1991 and a master's degree in Religion from Wake Forest University in 1993. Whatley also received a master's degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1994, and a law degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1997.[1]
Whatley began his career working as legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) in 2000. From 2001 to 2003, Whatley worked as a principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy under the George W. Bush (R) presidential administration.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many Whatley served as an executive vice president for the Consumer Energy alliance from 2007 to 2019, and as a partner at HBW Resources from 2007 to 2022.[1]
Whatley was elected by party leadership to serve as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party in June 2019.[1] He served in that role until March 2024, when he was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee. The RNC membership elected Whatley to serve in that role on March 8, 2024.[2] Whatley resigned as chairman on August 22, 2025, following his announcement that he would run for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.[3]
2024 RNC chair election
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel resigned from her position on March 8, 2024. The RNC elected North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley to serve as the new chairman that day at their Spring Training meeting in Houston, Texas.[4]
Whatley was the only person to announce his candidacy for the position. In a February 26 letter to RNC members Whatley said, "I have been truly honored to receive President Trump’s endorsement for this position and I hope to earn your vote as we undertake the crucial work of winning up and down the ballot in 2024."[5]
Aftermath
Following Whatley's election as chairman, and Lara Trump's election as co-chairwoman, the committee engaged in staff layoffs. According to a March 11 report by Politico, around 60 staff members from the political, communications, and data departments were expected to be laid off, including five members of senior staff. Politico's Alex Isenstadt wrote, "The overhaul is aimed at cutting, what one of the people described as, 'bureaucracy' at the RNC. But the move also underscores the swiftness with which Trump’s operation is moving to take over the Republican Party’s operations after the former president all but clinched the party’s presidential nomination last week."[6]
Elections
2026
See also: United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. Senate North Carolina
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. Senate North Carolina on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Roy Cooper (D) | |
| Orrick Quick (D) | ||
 | Brooks Agnew (R) | |
 | Don Brown (R) | |
| Michael Whatley (R) | ||
 | Shaunesi Deberry (Unaffiliated Independent)  | |
| ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Wiley Nickel (D)
- Andy Nilsson (R)
- Thom Tillis (R)
Endorsements
Whatley received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- President Donald Trump (R)
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Linkedin, "Michael Whatley," accessed March 8, 2024
- ↑ C-SPAN, "Republican National Committee Elects New Leadership," March 8, 2024
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Republican National Committee elects Trump-backed Joe Gruters as chair," August 22, 2025
- ↑ Republican National Committee, "RNC STATEMENT FROM CHAIRWOMAN RONNA MCDANIEL," February 26, 2024
- ↑ Politico, "Michael Whatley officially announces for RNC Chair," February 26, 2024
- ↑ Politico, "Bloodbath at RNC: Trump team slashes staff at committee," March 11, 2024
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