What You Should Know About Michael Whatley, the Reported Front-Runner for RNC Chair
On Monday, former President Donald Trump officially made known his choice to replace Ronna McDaniel as chair of the Republican National Committee.
He wants current North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley to take over for McDaniel, who has been the leader of the RNC since 2017.
Trump met with McDaniel at his Mar-a-Lago estate last week. McDaniel has not announced her departure, but she is said to have told Trump that she plans to step down shortly after the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24.
In a Monday statement, the 45th president said, “The RNC MUST be a good partner in the Presidential election. It must do the work we expect from the national Party and do it flawlessly.
“That means helping to ensure fair and transparent elections across the country, getting out the vote everywhere — even in parts of the country where it won’t be easy — and working with my campaign, as the Republican presumptive nominee for President, to win this election and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump continued.
“For these reasons, I think my friend Michael Whatley should be the RNC’s next leader. Michael has been with me from the beginning, has done a great job in his home state of North Carolina, and is committed to election integrity, which we must have to keep fraud out of our election so it can’t be stolen,” Trump said.
Whatley, who is in his mid-50s, currently serves as general counsel for the RNC in addition to being North Carolina GOP chairman, a position he won in 2019.
He previously served as chief of staff for then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole and as a senior adviser to the Bush-Cheney and Trump-Pence presidential campaigns, according to the North Carolina Republican Party’s website.
Additionally, he was a member of the Florida GOP recount team in the 2000 presidential election and worked in the U.S. Department of Energy in the George W. Bush administration. He also served as a law clerk to then-U.S. District Court Judge Robert Potter.
Whatley is a North Carolina native, with a history degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a master’s in religion from Wake Forest University, and a law degree and a master’s in theology from the University of Notre Dame.
Whatley lives in Gaston County, near Charlotte, with his wife and three children and serves as a vestryman in his church, according to his website.
With Whatley’s support, the North Carolina Republican Party “voted to censure former Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr after he voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial,” The News & Observer reported.
Then, in the 2020 election, North Carolina was one of the swing states that Trump held on to from his 2016 win. He had his narrowest margin of victory there, beating President Joe Biden by approximately 74,500 votes.
Whatley attributes the 2020 success, at least in part, to the election security efforts of Republicans in the Tar Heel State.
At the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, Whatley explained that his team of attorneys had been working on election integrity issues in counties throughout the state in the run-up to the election.
“Because we put so much pressure on the system for a year in advance, it really came down to being a pretty clean election,” he said.
Additionally, under Whatley’s leadership, “the state party launched an Election Integrity Committee in 2021 intended to prevent voter fraud in future elections,” The News & Observer reported.
Trump backed Whatley in 2023 to become RNC co-chairman, but the North Carolinian withdrew his name from consideration after trailing Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP, according to The New York Times. McKissick would go on to win the co-chair position.
The RNC has struggled under McDaniel’s leadership in recent years, seeing disappointing 2022 midterm election results and low fundraising numbers.
Fox News reported that the RNC drew its lowest fundraising total last year since 2013.
It raised $87.2 million in 2023, with just over $8 million in cash on hand going into this year’s presidential election. By contrast, the Democratic National Committee raised $120 million and has a record $21 million in cash on hand.
Earlier this month, Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked Trump, “Is it time for Ronna McDaniel to step aside?”
“Well, I think she knows that. I think she understands that,” Trump responded.
In his Monday statement, the former president also endorsed his daughter-in-law Lara Trump for RNC co-chairwoman and campaign adviser Chris LaCivita as the committee’s chief operating officer.
McKissick will have to step down as RNC co-chairman if Whatley becomes chairman because the co-chair position must then be filled by a woman, according to party rules.
In the meantime, “it looks like a fight is breaking out for chair with conservatives lobbying for Drew McKissick (SC) to take over as interim chair instead of Ronna’s pick, Michael Whatley (NC),” Arizona RNC member Tyler Bowyer posted on X last week.
One of Bowyer’s picks for co-chairwoman would be attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who ran for RNC chair last year but lost to McDaniel.
It looks like a fight is breaking out for chair with conservatives lobbying for Drew McKissick (SC) to take over as interim chair instead of Ronna’s pick, Michael Whatley (NC)
No matter where the chips land, my top three picks from the 168 as co-chair (needs to be female) are…
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) February 7, 2024
It will be up to the 168 RNC members to elect a replacement when they meet again in person.
The next scheduled meeting is this summer, but the RNC holds a training session each spring, which might provide an opportunity to vote for new leadership, ABC News reported.
Trump is definitely trying to put his team in place — Whatley, Lara Trump and LaCivita — to ensure election integrity is a top priority and assure would-be donors that their money will be spent well.
“This group of three is highly talented, battle-tested, and smart,” Trump said. “Every penny will be used properly. New Day.”
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