RNC, NCGOP teaming to help Michael Whatley through Senate primary
The Republican establishment loves to browbeat party leaders about staying out of party primary races. It sure would be nice if you could get these people to follow their own advice.
This invite is already floating around for a September fundraiser for Mike Whatley in in Charlotte:
The interesting part is the description of Whatley Victory Committee in the fine print at the bottom of the invite: “[…] a joint fundraising committee authorized and composed of Whatley for Senate, North Carolina First. Republican National Committee, NRSC, and North Carolina Republican Party“.
This would all be kosher if Whatley was the only GOP candidate in the race. But, he is not. Mecklenburg County attorney Don Brown is also campaigning for the GOP nomination.
I am sure that 100 lawyers have been all over this. But how does this Whatley Victory campaign committee square with party rules and rhetoric about leaders staying out of primary races?
As of today, Michael Whatley is still identified on the RNC website as the group’s chairman.
The invitation above identifies the RNC as one of the authorizers and organizers of this Whatley Victory Committee. So, Whatley got the organization he heads to put all this together for him — while he’s still chairman and will be facing a primary opponent.
How does all this square with party rules? (Seriously.)
It’s maddening to see a political organization controlled by President Trump working so hard to shut out and shut down a long-time MAGA activist to the benefit of a guy who is basically Thom Tillis’s little brother. Michael Whatley has gone on record bashing the J6 prisoners. Michael Whatley had no problem – as NCGOP chairman — with the Young Republicans joining a Black Lives Matter picket line outside the NCGOP HQ.
Whatley has lobbied for government-subsidized solar farms.
He’s also declared that North Carolina is no longer a Republican state, and that the party needs to move left to accommodate that so-called reality.
There are disturbing reports that thugs affiliated with the state and national GOP are putting “the word” out to vendors, consultants and activists that — if they are seen helping Don Brown in any way — they are finished in the Republican Party.
GOP-affiliated non-profits are acting as though there is no Senate primary in North Carolina. Media outlets – apparently scared of losing their access to GOP leaders – are acting as though there will be no primary. Sounds like a third-world banana republic. But, no. We’re still in North Carolina and the greatest country in the world.
GOPe types meaner to conservatives than they are to liberals and Democrats. *Gotta love it.*
All of this looks like a huge extended middle finger from TrumpWorld in DC to the folks back home who have busted their butts for The Don in three straight elections. They’re going to war on behalf of Thom Tillis‘s little brother and leaving an actual MAGA warrior twisting in the wind.
This is establishment folks in the state and national capital trying to force their choice down our collective throats. It’s the people’s decision. There needs to be a healthy debate and discussion among the party faithful. We won’t see this because Mike Whatley – in all honesty — is, to put it diplomatically, a hard sell.
He’ll do what he’s told. And that’s what is most important to power brokers in both capitals.
Picking someone as unaccomplished as Whatley and telling us he’s our senator flies against our party’s alleged dedication to freedom and liberty.
Dallas Woodhouse and the NCGOP pulled this same crap on me when I ran against Richard Burr in the 2016 primary. Don Brown needs to scream bloody murder about this “unholy alliance” to every TV/radio station, newspaper, and GOP group in North Carolina that will give him a hearing, as well as plaster it everywhere on Facebook and all social media. This flies in the face of fair play, and should be repugnant to every conservative and Republican in our state!
Well my two cents worth. I’m screaming on my Talk Show, Donna’s Edge Television Talk Show to vote for Don Brown!!
I know Don Brown and his core beliefs, and they are well above any Candidate running for US Senate in North Carolina, period!
There are major Senate primaries between conservatives and wishy-washy moderates next year in Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and North Carolina for 2026. The Republican National Senatorial Committee is sticking its nose into all of them for the moderates except Kentucky, and that is probably because the Kentucky race pits two McConnell moderates against one conservative. That is why I would never give a dime to the NRSC. I either give to conservative candidates directly or to them through the Senate Conservatives Fund. The SCF is already in the Kentucky race, and I hope they will be in all the others.
It is outrageous that the NCGOP would violate its own Plan of Organization by taking a side in a primary. With this precedent set, what is to stop county parties from endorsing Don Brown? The question is, who at NCGOP authorized this? It certainly was not the state ExCom which I am a member of. Was it the Central Committee? Or was it some individual, and if so, who?
We will also see at the Hall of Fame dinner whether both candidates get an equal chance to speak. Any less would be taking sides in a primary.
We have to remember that it will be critical to unite the party in the Fall because Roy Cooper would be a disaster, and grossly improper acts like this will make it a whole lot harder to unite the party against Cooper..
It is difficult to unite the party when the leadership lacks integrity and plays loose with the rules.
You are spot on with that observation, which is why we need to apply pressure to stop this blatant interference in the primary. How can we unite to defeat Cooper when some in leadership cause splits and hard feelings by getting involved in the primary?
Lets consider another aspect of the problem. Party leadership is also stalling on setting up a hearing on the properly brought charges of party disloyalty against Phil Berger for openly endorsing a liberal Democrat candidate for judge against the Republican nominee. We simply cannot have a double standard where some can go around getting involved in primaries and / or endorsing Democrats and others cannot. That is a recipe for turmoil and division within the party. There must be the same standard for everyone, and NO ONE should be able to endorse a Democrat in a general election and remain a party official.
To determine if that picture is legit, I contacted Lucy at the email address listed on the flyer:
Hey, Lucy-
Can you confirm this is indeed a Whatley Victory Committee Save the Date flyer for the event in Charlotte and it hasn’t been edited? Someone sent this to me and I don’t like to assume something is authentic.
REPLY:
From: lucy@lucycroxtonconsulting.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 6:49 PM
To: cls28655@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Save the Date!
Hi Ms. Snow,
Thank you for your note! This appears to be a screenshot of the invitation. There should be a second page with the required language, etc. but you are correct that we have a Charlotte Save the Date. Would you like to join us? We’d be honored to have you if you’d like to make the trip over!
Hope you are doing well,
Lucy
Since Lucy didn’t then send the complete flyer at my request, I guess MW knows he screwed up.
DEAR PRESIDENT TRUMP:
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
As someone holding leadership positions in the NC GOP and the 9th District and Moore County, I am beside myself about this revelation. This is in direct violation of the POO. I am evaluating whether or not to continue in those positions as a volunteer or resign and become a total thorn in the NC GOP’s side. My message to the leadership at NC GOP – We are having a primary, whether you like it or not. We don’t select, we elect.
And every like-minded NC Republican in a leadership position should do the same thing, band together, and get on as many state and national news casts, talk shows and podcasts as you can. I resigned BECAUSE…
If you want those who exited the Republican Party and registered UNA in NC out of sheer disgust, I’m sure a list of folks to join you can be developed. We all know great conservatives who threw out their hands and left the GOP.
I can’t help but surmise President Trump’s endorsement of Whatley was done for the sole purpose of exposing and draining the swamp.
Don’t resign. That is what some in the establishment would like to see from conservatives. We need to demand answers internally, and see that 1) this is changed and done so publicly, or 2) the rules are the same for everybody and local parties become free to endorse Don Brown if they want to. Currently the party is not supposed to be involved in primaries and that rule has been blatantly broken.
Given the involvement of other official Republican organizations in primaries like RNC, NRSC, and NRCC, maybe it is just time to let everyone in grassroots positions endorse in primaries, too. When the big boys are trying to sway primaries, it is simply not fair to tie the hands of grassroots leaders to do the very same. Some state party rules DO allow party organizations to endorse in primaries, and maybe the way to go is to establish some rules as to how that can be done – notice of intent to vote on an endorsement, supermajority required, etc.
Maybe one action that local parties could take within the rules of the PoO is to pass resolutions publicly demanding that these other Republican organizations keep their stinking noses OUT of our primary.
What’s stinking is the corpse of what WAS your once-conservative Republican Party. The question is how long will conservatives remain in this hostile, corporatist swamp Party until they figure out they can’t win?
The stupid asses running the Whatley campaign and the NCGOP are too bloody dumb to realize that they did not have to shove this crap in our faces. I have therefore switched from Whatley to Brown. Any bunch as dumb as the NCGOP leadership would not be capable of winning this election anyway.
Here’s another dumb question:
If this is all on the up and up, why wouldn’t Lucy send a copy of both pages of the Charlotte Save The Date flyer (so we could read the “second page with all the required language, etc.”)
From Merry Guy (district 11 chair):
I know you are a fact-based commenter, so I hope this is helpful. Whatley has entered into an agreement with the NCGOP called a JFC: Joint Fundraising Committee.
A JFC agreement is available to any REP Candidate who ASKS the NCGOP. No REP candidate will be turned down. This JFC between the NCGOP and Whatley is expressly not endorsing a primary candidate. None of the funds raised through this JFC can be used until AFTER THE PRIMARY.
All funds raised through the JFC agreement between Whatley and the NCGOP will be used for the Primary winner who will run on the REP ballot in the General. So, if Don Brown wins the Primary, any funds raised by Whatley as part of his JFC will be used to help Don Brown get elected.
When folks post comments suggesting that this is the NCGOP endorsing a candidate, they actually hurt the other candidate because many folks will gravitate towards the NCGOP pick. I hope everyone will support the candidate of their choice and will stop posting misinformation that actually hurts their preferred candidate.
The definition and details of such an agreement and the legal aspects can be found in the link below. https://www.cmdi.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-joint-fundraising-committees
I have said many times in many different forums. If you want to see a real change in the way candidates make their way onto the ballot, fix campaign finance. THAT needs reforming. My job right now is to work within the framework to get the REP candidate elected. I hope others will work to get campaign finance reform. I simply can’t do both at the same time. I am counting on others to help in the many other areas where we need help.
So, even though it’s called The Whatley Victory Committee, it’s something they’d all do for anyone who would ask? (Is it raining, or is someone PEEING on my leg?)
I am sorry, but that dog doesn’t hunt. It does not pass the smell test. If this were intended to be a committee to support the primary winner in the general election and nothing else, it would have a neutral name, NOT the name of one specific candidate. All parties to it HAD to know that putting one candidate’s name on the committee conveys the impression to anyone receiving an invitation of other material from this committee that the NCGOP is in bed with one candidate in the primary.. That just stinks. To make matters much worse, this event invitation specifically asks people to come out to support one specific candidate, NOT the eventual primary winner..
And what conservative candidate would ever get involved with the NRSC which has a long history of backing the establishment US Senate candidates in primaries against conservatives, and often abandoning conservative primary winners in the general election?
Incidentally, here is a great ad from the conservative primary candidate in the Kentucky US Senate GOP primary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nOrKJaYXxk&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fsenateconservatives.substack.com%2F
Excuse the dumb question, but…
Why would the Whatley campaign enter into a JFC agreement before the Primary since the funds from the other committees can’t be used until after the Primary? Seems like a cart/horse situation.
It gets them a backdoor “endorsement” which is useful in the primary from the NCGOP. That is one good reason. Then they are probably assuming they will win the primary, which may not turn out that way.
If the party wanted to stay neutral, they should have used a neutral name like “NC 2026 Senate Fund” and invited both GOP candidates to their fundraiser..
I would be curious to know the persons and procedures that one would need enlist the NCGOP in an agreement with another candidate, such as Mr. Brown? I see five general ones on the linked site, but what about the NCGOP? How are its procedures framed and what are its requirements?
I take back everything I said about Whatley being the only one who can raise the money to beat Cooper. After seeing this crap — party rules expressly forbid the use of party resources to help one candidate against another in a primary (or to endorse a Democrat candidate against a Republican, hello, Senator Berger?) — I am with Brown, even if his chances are very remote. State Senator Berger and Michael Whatley have sent the very same hypocritical, elitist messages to their core constituents: you are nobodies and if we have to step on you to have our way, the rules be damned. And you know — Whatley was so likely to win the primary, he did not have to do this s—. Well, he can go (expletive deleted) himself.
Way to go, W.E.!
Regarding party affiliation,Endorsements,fraudulently posts.This has become a brawl.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT.
Merry Guy is a useless idiot who has no idea what she is talking about. In most cases, she has no experience and makes it all up as she goes along, which is driven by hate. Please make her go away.