Andy Nilsson ends North Carolina Senate bid after Trump backs Michael Whatley

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina next year said Friday that he’s ending his bid now that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley has entered the race with President Donald Trump’s support.

Several months ago, Andy Nilsson revealed his candidacy for the Senate seat currently held by GOP incumbent Thom Tillis. Tillis announced in late June, after clashing with Trump, that he wouldn’t seek a third term.

Last week, Whatley, a North Carolina native and resident, entered the race for the GOP nomination, already holding what Trump wrote on social media as his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”

Now Nilsson, a former furniture company owner who once ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor, says in a news release that he had decided to suspend his campaign.

Nilsson said Trump’s endorsement of Whatley “played a central role in my decision. I respect the President’s desire to go in a different direction, even if I have questions about his choice.”

Whatley’s campaign launch July 31 appeared to set the stage for a possible general election showdown between him and former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who announced his candidacy three days earlier.

The seat in the highly competitive state could decide whether Democrats regain a majority in the chamber. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the November 2026 elections.

Similar to Nilsson’s departure, Cooper’s candidacy prompted ex-U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel to suspend his monthslong campaign for the Democratic nomination. Wiley endorsed Cooper.

Nilsson, who helps coach football and teaches at a Winston-Salem high school, did not mention any endorsement from him in Friday’s statement but said he would “work hard to keep this Senate seat in the hands of a conservative.”

Nilsson highlighted his effort to unseat Tillis, whom he said “had lost touch with his base,” and that “mine was the first campaign to call him out.” Nilsson’s political career also has included working as a campaign staffer for gubernatorial candidate Richard Vinroot and then-congressional candidate Richard Burr.

Winnowing the field won’t necessarily prevent Cooper or Whatley from avoiding March primary elections for their respective nominations. Republican Don Brown, a writer and former Navy officer, remains a candidate for the GOP nomination. And official candidate filing occurs in December.