MICHAEL WHATLEY ENTERS NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE, SETTING UP 2026 CLASH WITH COOPER

Secondly, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, a key architect of Trump’s 2024 win, launched a campaign for North Carolina’s opening Senate seat, possibly leaving the committee without its leader ahead of what’s expected to be a particularly vicious campaign cycle. Trump backed Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters to succeed Whatley when he steps down as chairman.

However, Trump and Vance, who assumed the role of RNC finance chairman in March, have a vested interest in ensuring Republican campaign coffers are stocked heading into the election.

Trump has maintained historic fundraising levels following his 2024 election victory, amassing a war chest north of $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, his political operation is already spending on campaign ads highlighting Republicans’ roles in passing the “one big, beautiful bill,” Trump’s landmark tax and spending legislation that he signed into law on July 4.

And while Trump has yet to fully coordinate his travel plans with the RNC ahead of 2026, its officials told the Washington Examiner that they expect the president to hit the road to stump for Republicans in close elections.

Vance, the first vice president to serve as RNC finance chair, has launched himself into his secondary role as the top GOP money man. Since being named to the position in March, Vance has held fundraisers in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.

Fundraisers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Big Sky, Montana, which occurred Tuesday, took in more than $2 million apiece, while an event in Nantucket, Massachusetts, raised upward of $5 million, according to Vance aides.

“[Vance has] ​​just been a fantastic draw for these events. [Whatley has] talked about this with folks,” one senior RNC official told the Washington Examiner. “When you’ve got someone like the VP headlining a fundraiser for you, you know there’s a higher level of enthusiasm. It’s easier to get folks to them, and he’s just been a great partner. I mean, it truly has worked out phenomenally.”

One veteran Republican campaign official noted that Vance’s deep ties to the venture capital world, coupled with a “deep” policy expertise, have made it significantly easier to pull donations from the tech world.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” the official assessed. “We couldn’t ask for someone better.”

Vance’s team declined to preview the RNC’s second-quarter fundraising numbers, which are slated to be published on Thursday.

Whatley’s imminent departure from the RNC also hasn’t rattled committee staff.

Republican officials told the Washington Examiner that losing the chairman would be “bittersweet” but that he would set them up for success heading into 2026.

“The biggest thing is there is a confidence in the building now on our side that just did not exist for the last five years before he came on board,” one senior RNC official said. “Having a smart candidate, in North Carolina, who knows how to attack [Democrat Roy] Cooper, who’s not going to do dumb s*** to piss off the president and can raise a bunch of money — it’s going to make our lives easier, so it’s just bittersweet.”

A second Republican campaign operative added, “All of our priorities haven’t really changed, especially pertaining to election integrity — all of our efforts are still going in full force. Our messaging operation is up and running. Yes, obviously it’s going to change things, given the fact that we’ll have a new chairman and a new voice. But I think that race is so important in North Carolina, and so I think it’ll be really great having him there.”

Still, Democrats, who have struggled to find effective means of resisting Trump’s agenda, have started to look at 2026 optimistically.

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Multiple veteran Democratic operatives told the Washington Examiner that Trump’s sliding poll numbers on immigration and the economy, and a generally negative public perception of his reconciliation legislation, will give them a leg up in critical battlegrounds.

“This president doesn’t give two s***s about helping normal, working-class households, just his wealthy friends, and I think Republicans are finally starting to wake up to his lies,” one Biden White House veteran said.