WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Thursday said she would not run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina next year, setting the stage for an expected matchup of former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.

Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and North Carolina will be the site of one of the half-dozen most competitive races in next year’s midterm elections, following Republican Thom Tillis’ decision not to seek reelection.

“After much consideration and heartfelt discussions with my family, friends, and supporters, I have decided not to pursue the United States Senate seat in North Carolina at this time,” Lara Trump said in a posting on X on Thursday.

Multiple U.S. media outlets, citing unnamed sources, have reported that Whatley and Cooper intend to enter the race. The two could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

North Carolina is one of six Senate races that are seen as competitive by political analysts. The other five are in Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

Democrats face an uphill battle in capturing control of the chamber, as they would need to defend seats in Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire where incumbents are retiring and flip at least four Republican-held seats for a majority.

They are seen as having better odds of capturing the House of Representatives, though efforts underway in heavily Republican Texas to redraw district lines could dim their chances in that chamber as well.

Tillis opted not to seek reelection after drawing Trump’s ire for voting against a sweeping tax-cut bill that will cut Medicaid funding. That may have provided Democrats with the ammunition to help sway the state’s rural voters.

“It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities,” Tillis said of the massive bill the Senate passed on July 1.

Cooper also blasted the bill in a July 3 posting on social media, saying that it hurt “working families, seniors, children and veterans so those at the top can have big tax breaks.”

On Monday, in his role as Republican National Committee head, Whatley posted criticism on social media of Representative Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor of Virginia this year. His missive might provide a hint on how a head-to-head matchup with Cooper might look.

“She’s an open-borders, pro-DEI, radical leftist who put America last in Congress and would do the same if she’s elected as governor,” Whatley said of Spanberger.

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(Reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Scott Malone and Rosalba O’Brien)