US Midterms 2026
Type two letters or more. Arrow keys move through the results, Enter opens one, Esc closes.
Michael Whatley, a lawyer who chaired the North Carolina Republican Party and then the Republican National Committee, is the 2026 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Michael Whatley.
Recent media coverage for Michael Whatley.
Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley has no television ads currently booked for the final weeks of North Carolina’s Senate race, as his campaign faces a widening polling gap against Democrat Roy Cooper and…
NORTH CAROLINA, USA: With North Carolina's open U.S. Senate seat drawing national attention ahead of the midterm elections, Democrat Roy Cooper and
“The election’s in 19 days,” Tillis said. “Twenty days from now, I’ll be reaching out to Republicans who aren’t crazy and try to figure out how we can recover from what I think are almost certain losses this election…
During his last year of his final term as governor, Cooper proclaimed 2024 the “Year of Public Schools.” He frequently visited public schools during his time as governor.
It also has implications for the state’s 2026 U.S. Senate race: not only because Congress could vote to give North Carolina more money, but also because the leading candidates for the seat have held leadership roles…
Michael Whatley's Senate campaign is temporarily not on the airwaves in North Carolina.Whatley, the Republican nominee, does not have future linear
Republican US Senate nominee Michael Whatley has run out of remaining television ad reservations in North Carolina as the 2026 midterm race moves into its final stretch, according to AdImpact data.
Republican North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley had no future linear advertisement booked in the state as of Wednesday.
RickettsRALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN): The campaign for Republican nominee Michael Whatley in North Carolina's U.S. Senate race has no future television advertisements
President Donald Trump will visit Greenville on Tuesday in the midst of early voting to campaign for North Carolina Republicans in the midterm election, the Republican National Committee announced.
No story this week names this candidate.
Michael David Whatley was born in Michigan on October 1, 1968, and his family settled in Watauga County, North Carolina, early in his high school years; his father worked in accounting and his mother as a librarian.
While a sophomore at Watauga High School, from which he graduated in 1987, he volunteered on Senator Jesse Helms's 1984 reelection campaign.
He earned 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, and the University of Notre Dame granted him a theology master's in 1994 and a law degree (Juris Doctor) in 1997.
In 2000 Whatley worked on George W. Bush's presidential campaign as part of the team handling the Florida recount, and during the Bush administration he held the post of deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Energy. He was Senator Elizabeth Dole's chief of staff from 2004 to 2007. He then became a partner at the lobbying firm HBW Resources, representing oil and gas clients, and from 2008 to 2019 was executive vice president of the Consumer Energy Alliance.
The North Carolina Republican Party chose Whatley as its chair in June 2019, succeeding Robin Hayes, and he led the state party until 2024. The Republican National Committee named him general counsel in February 2023. With Donald Trump's endorsement, he won election as Republican National Committee chair in March 2024, with Lara Trump as co-chair, and was reelected in January 2025. He left the chairmanship in 2025 to run for the Senate.
Press reports on July 24, 2025, said Whatley would seek the North Carolina seat in the U.S. Senate held by Republican Thom Tillis, who is not seeking a third term. Endorsed by President Donald Trump, Whatley won the Republican nomination, taking 64.6% against author Don Brown. His opponent in the general election on November 3, 2026, is Democrat Roy Cooper, a former governor of North Carolina.
