When U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, some of the familiar faces in North Carolina politics started to throw their hats into the race. Most notably, former Gov. Roy Cooper announced his bid for Tillis’ seat on July 28 — sparking excitement for Democrats, reigniting hope for obtaining the same seat they last secured in 2008 with Kay Hagan.
Republicans made their own announcement just three days after Cooper’s when Republican National Convention Chairman Michael Whatley came out with his own U.S. Senate campaign with the intention of keeping Tillis’ seat red. Whatley, though versed in the behind-the-scenes aspect of politicking, has never sought public office until now.
President Donald Trump has already thrown his endorsement behind Whatley, the same man Trump tapped to be the chair of the RNC in 2024.
“Mike would make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is fantastic at everything he does, and he was certainly great at the RNC where, in the Presidential Election, we won every Swing State, the Popular Vote, and the Electoral College by a landslide!”
So who is this new pawn in the MAGA movement’s goal to undermine American values and democratic systems? Who is Michael Whatley?
Qnotes has examined Whatley’s past involvements in North Carolina politics, ranging from volunteering on Sen. Jesse Helms’ reelection campaign in high school to serving as chief of staff to former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Here’s what we uncovered.
A more than questionable history
Originally from Watauga County, Whatley’s introduction to the North Carolina political scene began when he was a sophomore in high school and volunteered on then-Sen. Jesse Helms’ reelection campaign in 1984. Helms is infamous for his pro-segregation and anti-LGBTQ+ policy stances, in addition to his statement on one of North Carolina’s oldest cities, “why build a zoo when we can just put up a fence around Chapel Hill.”
Additionally, Helms opposed busing, the Civil Rights Act, and enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. He called the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress,” and sponsored legislation to either extend it to the entire country or scrap it altogether. In 1982, two years before Whatley volunteered for the campaign, Helms voted against the extension of the Voting Rights Act.
Helms’ view on the LGBTQ+ community was no better: during the height of the AIDS epidemic, he fought to cut funding for HIV/AIDS research and treatment, saying the disease resulted from “unnatural” and “disgusting” homosexual behavior. He also held up the appointment of lesbian Roberta Achtenberg to assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the early years of the Clinton administration because, “she’s a damn lesbian,” he said, adding “she’s not your garden-variety lesbian. She’s a militant-activist-mean lesbian.”
After volunteering on Helms’ campaign at a young age, Whatley studied history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and later got his master’s degree in religion at Wake Forest University. He then worked as a federal law clerk in Charlotte, and in 2000, Whatley was a part of the team responsible for initiating the vote recount in Florida for former President George W. Bush. He then worked in the U.S. Energy Department during Bush’s administration, before moving to become State Senator Elizabeth Dole’s chief of staff.
Whatley and his leader, Trump
Whatley has been a Trump supporter since day one, first vocalizing his support for the real estate mogul turned establishment politician all the way back in 2016. It was during the first Trump administration Whatley was named the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party after outgoing chair, Robin Hayes, faced bribery charges following a massive corruption scandal (Hayes was pardoned by Trump in 2021 prior to President Joe Biden’s inauguration).
Following the 2020 election, Whatley was one of the loudest voices crying, “stolen election” after Trump lost to Biden. He urged state election officials to call the statewide presidential election results, even though the State Board of Elections doesn’t call a winner in any election.
Whatley sought to undermine North Carolina elections by launching an Election Integrity Committee under the guise of preventing voter fraud in the Tar Heel state. Undermining democracy even further, it was under Whatley’s leadership the NC Republican Party moved to censure former U.S. Senator Richard Burr for voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection. He was still in the position when the party moved to censure Tillis for working across the aisle on policy involving same-sex marriage and gun laws following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
The former NC Republican Party chair also has a knack for skirting around the rules, falling right in line along with his fellow MAGA minions. In summer 2023, Whatley was the target of scrutiny from other members of his party for the way he was elected to his chair position that year.
According to reporting from the News & Observer, organizers for the chair election were asked to use an app to cast their vote. The app, allegedly, did not require the user’s location, opening up for people not on the convention floor to vote — a violation of the rules. A lawsuit was brought forward by attendees of the convention claiming these irregularities, but it was thrown out by a judge later.
The North Carolina sellout
Whatley’s political history is enough to make eyebrows raise in concern — whether it be from his introduction into politics backing one of America’s most notorious racist, homophobic and bigoted Senators to allegedly undermining the chair election in North Carolina’s Republican Party to secure his seat again.
If elected to represent North Carolina on Capitol Hill, Michael Whatley will sell out North Carolina to Trump and his administration. If this happens, Whatley and the rest of Trump’s allies will be known for their cowardice and their inability to stand up to an administration set on turning the United States over to the clutches of authoritarianism, effectively erasing the work of all of the freedom fighters before us.
It’s up to the people of North Carolina to ensure our state is on the right side of American history. Regardless of party affiliation, North Carolinians need to take the stand to ensure corrupt, morally questionable leaders like Whatley never see the seats they seek. It’s time to make North Carolina a state fighting for the American Dream, where everyone has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.