Guide To The North Carolina Republican Senate Primary
Now that candidate filing has closed, primaries are set across North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Times will profile these key races ahead of the March 3rd Primary. The first primary will be the Republican Primary for the United States Senate contest in North Carolina this year.
Setting
North Carolina is most competitive state on the 2026 Senate map, and a must win seat for Democrat if they hope to gain a Senate majority. Nationally, Democrats need to defend Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, and New Hampshire. Republicans need to defend Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. If Democrats fail to win North Carolina, it will be nearly impossible for them to gain a Senate majority in near future.
North Carolina Senate contests in 2020 and 2014 broke spending records due to similar political dynamics. At the beginning of the cycle, Senator Thom Tillis announced his plans to run for reelection but later declined.
Candidates
Former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley: After Tillis’ surprise announcement, former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley signaled his intention to run for the United States Senate with the full support and endorsement of President Trump. As we previously reported, President Trump said, “ o the Great People of North Carolina, one of the most capable executives in our Country successfully ran, along with Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee. He happens to live in your incredible State, which I love, and won, including Primaries, six times in a row! My relationship with you has been fantastic, and only enhanced by the job I did after January 20th, when I took over the flood drenched areas that were abandoned by Sleepy Joe Biden and your Governor, and, through the infusion of money and hard work, fixed the problem like nobody else has the ability to do. The one that energized that project, and so many more, was the Chairman of the RNC, Michael Whatley. I am sending this Statement out for a very good reason. Mike would make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina. 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! But I have a mission for my friends in North Carolina, and that is to get Michael Whatley to run for the U.S. Senate. He is STRONG on the Border, stopping Crime, supporting our Military/Veterans, cutting Taxes, and saving our always under siege Second Amendment. I need him in Washington, and I need him representing YOU! Fortunately, I have somebody who will do a wonderful job as the Chairman of the RNC. His name is, Joe Gruters, and he will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. So, should Michael Whatley run for the Senate, please let this notification represent my Complete and Total Endorsement. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
After announcing his campaign, Whatley has focused on fundraising, announcing a record haul of over $6 million, after two months.
Campaign Website: https://www.michaelwhatley.com/
Don Brown: After leaving the Navy where he served as a JAG officer, Brown opened a law practice in the Charlotte area that offer “compressive” and “unbundled” legal services, in contrast to most law firms that specialized in a particular area of the law. In 2007, Brown was censured by the State Bar for failing to adequately represent his client.
Brown placed a distant fourth in the 2024 Eighth Congressional Primary. Since launching is campaign last February, he has raised $114,000 and spent over $70,000. His campaign is regularly used by North Carolina Democrats as talking points.
Campaign Website: https://www.donbrownfornc.com/
Michele Morrow: The day before filing closed former Republican Nominee for the Superintend of Public Instruction made a surprising filing for the U.S. Senate. As we previously reported, In 2024, Morrow made her first run for public office as the Republican nominee for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Morrow failed to defeat DEI-advocate, Democrat Mo Green, while Republicans secured other statewide offices. In that statewide race, Morrow only raised slightly over $400,000, with records showing that she reimbursed herself at least $17,000.
Morrow says she is running to be the Trump candidate. But President Trump endorsed her opponent several months ago.
Campaign website: https://www.morrow4nc.com/
Richard Dansie: Dansie is a first-time candidate with limited political involvement. According to his website, he is from Utah, joined Army intelligence, and now works as network engineer.
Campaign website: https://www.dansieforsenate.us/
Thomas Johnson: According to his website, Johnson is an evangelical and Air Force veteran.
Campaign website: https://www.tlj2026.com/
Elizabeth Temple: Temple is a former school teacher and previously ran for Smithfield town council. She does not have a campaign website.
Margot Dupre: Filed the paperwork to run but has not set up a campaign.
Analysis: North Carolina has a fairly easy ballot access, which means that North Carolina often has candidate filled primaries. In 2010, former Sen. Richard Burr easily crushed three lesser-known candidates. In 2014, former Speaker of the House, Senator Thom Tillis defeated six opponents in a hotly contested primary. In 2016, former Senator Richard Burr yet again defeated three different primary opponents. In 2020, Senator Tillis easily defeated three lesser-known candidates. The last truly competitive primary in North Carolina was 2022, where the endorsement of President Donald Trump successfully propelled Senator Ted Budd over former Congressman Mark Walker and former Governor Pat McCrory.
Unlike 2022, none of the challengers to Trump-endorsed Michael Whatley have the organization or fundraising capacity to mount a serious challenge. Instead, they are simply dividing the anti-Trump vote between themselves, making it impossible for any one of them to truly challenge Whatley.
