Democratic Rep. Don Davis is exploring a run for the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, according to a spokesperson.
Davis is “looking at all options and not ruling anything out,” said the spokesperson, Hannah Spengler. But running for the Senate seat would mean giving up a competitive House seat in a district won by President Donald Trump last year. Davis narrowly won reelection last year, and Republicans have signaled they’ll try to flip the seat again this cycle.
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel is already running on the Democratic side, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, who remains popular in North Carolina, also looms large over the race. He’s expected to make a decision this summer.
Among Republicans, Lara Trump — the president’s daughter-in-law and a Wilmington native — is looking at the race, as are RNC Chair Michael Whatley and Rep. Pat Harrigan.
Speaking to reporters Monday, North Carolina’s other Republican senator — Ted Budd — said the GOP has a “great bench” and said Lara Trump would be a “very viable” candidate given her ties to the state: “If she wants it we would of course be supportive,” he said.
“When you look at those outside the political realm that possibly want to run, you look at those that are in the U.S. House, you got a lot of good candidates there, so who knows how this will shake out?” Budd added.
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