NC Senate showdown escalates as Trump rallies behind Whatley to keep GOP seat
President Donald Trump heads to battleground North Carolina on Friday as he aims to keep an open Senate seat, previously held by a Republican, in GOP hands in next year's...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump heads to battleground North Carolina on Friday as he aims to keep an open Senate seat, previously held by a Republican, in GOP hands in next year's midterm elections. Trump will hold an evening event on affordability as he teams up in the crucial southeastern state with Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair and clear frontrunner for the GOP Senate nomination in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Whatley is likely to face off next year against former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in what's expected to be one of the most expensive and crucial Senate battles in the country, as the GOP works to hold its 53-47 majority in the chamber. And rising prices will be a top issue on the campaign trail. "President Trump won North Carolina all three times. 2016, 2020, and 2024... because he connects directly with the people of North Carolina, talking about the issues that they care about. So it is very important to have him on the ground," Whatley emphasized this week in a Fox News Digital interview. TRUMP-BACKED RNC CHAIR JUMPS INTO ‘MARQUEE’ SENATE BATTLE Low propensity MAGA voters and other Trump supporters don't always head to the polls in elections when the president's not on the ballot, which is a major concern for Republicans heading into next year's midterms. That's why Whatley, a former state GOP chair whom Trump handpicked in 2024 to run the RNC and urged this summer to run for the Senate, would love to see the president return to North Carolina numerous times next year. GOP SENATE CAMPAIGN CHIEF AIMS TO EXPAND 2026 MAP IN THIS BLUE-LEANING STATE "He is fantastically popular in North Carolina," Whatley said of Trump. "He has a real affinity for the state. The voters...love him, and it'll be very, very good to get him back in North Carolina." But more importantly, Whatley and other Republicans are aiming to frame the 2026 elections as a referendum on Trump and his agenda. "We're certai…