Then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat from North Carolina, speaks with reporters on Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
The showdown in North Carolina is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive Senate battles in the country. Cooper's announcement could come as early as next week.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina met with Whatley to discuss the North Carolina race, a GOP operative told Fox News.
RNC CHAIR SAYS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ KEY TO GOP'S MESSAGING EFFORT HEADED INTO MIDTERMS
The NRSC, since January, had been floating Whatley as a potential replacement for Tillis.
Whatley, a North Carolina native, served as the state's GOP chair for five years before he was elected RNC chair last March.
Then-RNC Vice Chair Lara Trump, President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, speaks at the Republican National Convention last summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Getty Images)
Trump, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, is married to the president's son, Eric.
She stepped down from her post at the RNC late last year and currently hosts "My View with Lara Trump" on the Fox News Channel.
But Trump apparently decided against seeking the Senate seat.
Asked in an interview last week with Fox News Digital about the open seat in North Carolina, Whatley said, "I feel very good that we're going to be able to hold on to that seat. You know, we've been winning in that Senate seat down there for decades. The President has won that state three times in a row."
"If Laura Trump decides to move forward, then I think the entire ecosystem would coalesce behind her, including myself, and if she's not going to, then we will sit down with the President and figure out what the next steps are going to be," he added.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Whatley said the battle in North Carolina is "going to be the number one Senate race in the entire country, along with Georgia, just because of the number of media markets that we have, the spending that's going to be there, the fact that you've got to hold the seat and you've got to pick up seat in Georgia."
"We also going to have a tough race up in Maine. We're going to have an opportunity to pick up a seat in Michigan. So, you know, there are going to be a number of key races, but that's going to be one of the marquee races in the country," he added.
Republicans currently control the Senate with a 53-47 majority.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rnc-chair-michael-whatley-seek-open-republican-held-senate-seat-battleground-north-carolina-sources