Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is expected to run for the Senate in North Carolina, setting up a marquee race in next year’s midterms, two sources familiar with Whatley’s plans tell CNN.

Michael Whatley, chairman of the national Republican Party, plans to run for an open Senate seat in North Carolina in 2026, with the blessing of President Donald Trump, after Trump’s daughter-in-law,

President Donald Trump has picked the candidate he’s supporting to fill North Carolina’s open Senate seat in the 2026 election: Michael Whatley. Whatley is a North Carolina native who served as head of the state’s Republican Party before Trump selected him in 2024 as chairman of the Republican National Committee.