North Carolina's Senate battle lines are drawn
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Michael Whatley (left), chair of the Republican National Committee, and Roy Cooper, former Democratic governor of North Carolina. Photos: Alex Wroblewski/AFP, Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Now that North Carolina is officially the first major Senate race with both parties' top candidates locked in, the GOP apparatus is quickly circling the wagons.
Why it matters: North Carolina will likely be the priciest and most competitive Senate contest of the cycle, with Georgia and Michigan seats as other top contenders.
- Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley made his bid official Thursday afternoon, setting up a showdown in November 2026 with former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) to replace retiring Republican Thom Tillis.
- Whatley has the backing of President Trump, while Cooper was at the top of the candidate recruitment list for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Driving the news: The National Republican Senatorial Committee has launched a full-court press to get GOP senators and consultants to make fundraising pleas on Whatley's behalf so he can launch his campaign with a bang.
- On Tuesday, NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) asked senators to contribute the maximum allowable amount to Whatley's campaign during a closed-door lunch, a source familiar with the discussion tells Axios.
- He also urged them to join the NRSC for a fundraiser for Whatley in September.
What they're saying: "Michael is a strong conservative voice committed to fighting for North Carolina and will be a crucial part of our growing Senate Republican majority," Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a statement.
- "Like President Donald J. Trump, Michael Whatley knows how to win North Carolina," Scott said.
- "I am confident he will be an outstanding Senator for North Carolina and Senate Leadership Fund will proudly support his campaign every step of the way," SLF Chair Cory Gardner said in his statement.
Zoom in: Both Cooper and Whatley are formidable candidates whose entrances essentially cleared the primary field.
- North Carolina is one of the two open-seat battleground Senate races next year. Tillis predicts it will set new campaign records for dollars spent.
- Cooper raised $3.4 million in the first 24 hours of his official campaign.
- Thune is already planning a fundraising stop in North Carolina this fall, as Axios first reported, and his associated super PAC, SLF, is expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the race.
Zoom out: In Georgia, Republicans are still jockeying to be the candidate to take on incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, viewed as the most vulnerable Democrat of the cycle.
- They're also hunting for a strong candidate to help them flip the New Hampshire seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
- Democrats, on the other hand, are still hoping Gov. Janet Mills will launch a bid to dethrone Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and waiting for a top contender to emerge to take on former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) in Michigan.
