American Republican political leader
Michael Whatley
(born 1968 or 1969)
[1]
is an American lawyer and politician from
North Carolina
who has served as chair of the
Republican National Committee
since March 8, 2024. Before this, he was chair of the
North Carolina Republican Party
for five years, the last year of which he also served as the RNC's
general counsel
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Whatley is from
Watauga County, North Carolina
. He graduated from the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
with a
bachelor's degree
in history and from
Wake Forest University
with a
master's degree
in religion. In 1997, he earned a
Juris Doctor
degree and a master's degree in theology from the
University of Notre Dame
.
[2]
Whatley began working in
Republican Party
politics when he volunteered on the
1984 reelection campaign
of
U.S. Senator
Jesse Helms
while he was a sophomore at Watauga High School.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
In 2000, Whatley was a member of
George W. Bush
's team pursuing the
Florida recount
. He served in the
United States Department of Energy
during the
presidency of George W. Bush
. Whatley was
chief of staff
for
Elizabeth Dole
when she served in the U.S. Senate.
[4]
He was an executive vice president for the Consumer Energy Alliance from 2008 to 2019, while he was a partner at lobbying firm HBW Resources.
[5]
In June 2019, the
North Carolina Republican Party
selected Whatley to succeed
Robin Hayes
as their chair.
[6]
[7]
Whatley was closely involved in President
Donald Trump
's efforts to overturn the result of the
2020 presidential election
, including participating in the December 2020 phone call on which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger
to "find" the votes he needed to win the state.
[8]
Following the
United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021
, Whatley refused to blame Trump, saying that only those who participated in the riots bear responsibility.
[9]
[10]
In February 2021, Whatley said, "We certainly saw evidence of voting irregularities, of election counting irregularities in a number of places around the country", and that the reason Trump won North Carolina was his state party's vigilance against Democrats' attempts to cheat.
[11]
Also in February 2021, the state party voted unanimously to
censure
Senator
Richard Burr
for voting to convict President Trump during his
second impeachment
.
[12]
The
Republican National Committee
appointed Whatley as its general counsel in February 2023.
[13]
In February 2024, Donald Trump endorsed Whatley to replace
Ronna McDaniel
as chair of the RNC.
[14]
On March 8, 2024, Whatley was elected as the new chair of the RNC, along with
Lara Trump
as his co-chair.
[15]
[16]
Per the North Carolina party's 2022 plan of organization, its vice chair (Susan Mills) served as state chair until a successor was elected.
[17]
[18]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Coleman, Dashiell (June 14, 2019).
"Gastonia's Whatley says GOP will focus on 2020"
.
Gaston Gazette
. Retrieved
February 6,
2024
.
- ^
Poteat, Bill.
"Gastonia's GOP State Chairman Michael Whatley excited as party builds toward 2022 election"
.
Gaston Gazette
.
- ^
Moss, Bill (July 27, 2019).
"Henderson County Four Seasons Politics: Republican chair declares North Carolina key to Trump re-election ? Hendersonville Lightning"
.
Hendersonville Lightning
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Coleman, Dashiell (June 7, 2019).
"Gaston Republican in running for state GOP role"
.
Gaston Gazette
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Cama, Timothy (March 8, 2024).
"Republicans tap former oil lobbyist for national chair"
.
E&E News
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"North Carolina Republicans pick Whatley as state party head"
.
AP News
. June 9, 2019
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Morrill, Jim; Pogarcic, Anna (June 9, 2019).
"Michael Whatley elected new chair of NC Republican Party, calls for a 'reset'
"
.
Charlotte Observer
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Roth, Zachary (February 13, 2024).
"Trump's pick for RNC chief worked with top election denier's group"
.
Colorado Newsline
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Greenwood, Max (February 16, 2021).
"North Carolina GOP chair: Fault lies with rioters, not Trump"
.
The Hill
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Kaczynski, Andrew; Steck, Em (February 9, 2024).
"Likely frontrunner for RNC chair parroted Trump's election lies after 2020 and has suggested Jan 6. rioters weren't 'Republican voters'
"
. Politics.
CNN
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
Joseph, Cameron (May 19, 2021).
"Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists Are Taking Over State Republican Parties"
.
Vice
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"North Carolina GOP censures Sen. Burr for impeachment vote"
.
NBC News
.
Raleigh, North Carolina
. February 16, 2021
. Retrieved
February 7,
2024
.
- ^
"Whatley tapped for national RNC leadership role"
.
Carolina Journal -
. February 28, 2023.
- ^
Ibssa, Lalee (February 12, 2024).
"Trump endorses Michael Whatley as RNC chair, Lara Trump as co-chair"
.
ABC News
. Retrieved
February 13,
2024
.
- ^
Samuels, Brett (March 8, 2024).
"RNC elects Michael Whatley, Lara Trump as new leaders"
.
The Hill
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Trump's grip on RNC tightens as Michael Whatley and Lara Trump become new leaders"
.
The Independent
. March 8, 2024
. Retrieved
March 8,
2024
.
- ^
"2022 Plan of Organization"
(PDF)
.
North Carolina Republican Party
. March 5, 2023. p. 19
. Retrieved
March 10,
2024
.
- ^
"2023 North Carolina Republican Party State Convention"
.
Polk County Republican Party, North Carolina
. June 14, 2023
. Retrieved
March 10,
2024
.
Susan Mills will continue to serve as Vice Chair.