Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican who represented North Carolina in Congress, also never ran for public office before being elected in 2002. Whatley served as her chief of staff for one of her six years in the chamber.

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper led Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley by 6 percentage points in the first major poll of the 2026 North Carolina Senate race. The Emerson College poll,

Michael Whatley announced Thursday afternoon that he is running for the U.S. senate seat currently occupied by Thom Tillis.