Brown, Temple seek to upend Whatley for GOP nomination in NC’s U.S. Senate race

WRAL ^ | December 2, 2025; updated December 3 | Paul Specht

[T Ruth]

President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Michael Whatley in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race isn’t deterring other Republicans from the race.

Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman who Trump endorsed this summer, is expected to face Waxhaw lawyer Don Brown and teacher Elizabeth Temple of Smithfield in the GOP primary to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who isn’t seeking reelection in next year’s midterms.

Whatley filed candidacy paperwork Tuesday, a day after Brown and Temple filed. The Republican field could grow; candidates can file to run until Dec. 19.

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A competitive GOP primary could affect the party’s odds of winning the general election. Competitive primaries can drain a candidate’s campaign funds, leaving the party nominee with fewer resources in the general election — and North Carolina’s race is expected to be one of the most expensive in U.S. history.

Whoever wins the Republican primary is expected to face Democrat Roy Cooper, who served two terms as the state’s governor. Cooper, who has also served as the state’s attorney general and in the state legislature, has never lost a statewide election.

Cooper is a prolific fundraiser, and the Democratic Party is expected to spend tens of millions of dollars supporting his bid. Democrats need to flip four seats in the U.S. Senate to take a majority in the chamber. North Carolina is home to one of only two GOP-held seats that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report considers a toss up.

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Whatley was an early supporter of Trump’s 2016 White House run and then helped the president carry the state again in the 2020 presidential election ...

… In July, Trump pointed to Whatley’s body of work when endorsing him for the U.S. Senate seat.

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TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: brown; cooper; temple; whatley

[T Ruth]

The primary election is exactly three months away, March 3.

[ComputerGuy]

I know absolutely nothing about the two contenders, but Thillis needs to go.

[deport]

Tillis appears to be moving on down the line
what ever that is in his interpretation

[montag813]

Can’t wait until the vile Tillis is finally gone

[Jane Long]

I always wonder who funds these RINO splitters.

[PermaRag]

Trump endorsed Whatley months ago. Unless Trump changes his mind which is extremely unlikely in this case, it’s “game over” in the GOP primary. Whatley will have all the GOPe money and endorsements; in fact, he already does.

Temple is a complete non-entity, and Brown might be decent but he’s way behind in money and name recognition. He was a non-serious candidate for Congress last year, finishing a distant 4th in the NC-8 House primary. It’s hard to see him doing much better in an expensive Senate race. SUPER expensive, when you see what Roy Cooper and the Democrats are going to spend. NC is their #1 target in the 2026 Senate elections, and for good reason.