Category Archives: Senate

Rep. Collins Expected to Enter
Georgia Senate Race Later This Month

By Jim Ellis — Thursday, July 24, 2025

Senate

Georgia Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson)

Reports are surfacing from Georgia that two-term US Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) will announce a US Senate bid before the end of July.

Should Rep. Collins follow through and enter the race, he will join US Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler/Savannah), state Agriculture Commissioner John King, and state Sen. Colton Moore (R-Trenton) as prominent candidates in the GOP primary. The eventual Republican nominee will challenge first-term incumbent Jon Ossoff (D).

According to the latest Federal Election Commission candidate financial disclosure report for the period ending June 30, 2025, Rep. Collins would have just over $1 million to transfer into a Senate race. Rep. Carter is considerably ahead on the money front, reporting a cash-on-hand figure of just over $4 million after raising slightly under $3.6 million for the 2026 election cycle. Commissioner King disclosed only $450,405 in his federal campaign account. State Sen. Moore has yet to file a committee statement with the FEC and is unlikely to become a top-tier contender.

Should the Republican field remain constant, it appears the race could narrow significantly to a battle between the two Congressmen. For his part, Sen. Ossoff, obviously considered highly vulnerable in 2026, leads the nation in fundraising with a whopping $41.97 million since he was originally elected in 2020.

During his term, however, Sen. Ossoff has spent over $30.8 million leaving a reported cash-on-hand figure a touch under $15.5 million. Clearly, the Senator will be financially well-heeled in what could become the most competitive 2026 national Senate race.

In 2020, Ossoff upset then-Sen. David Perdue (R) in a post-general election runoff, from the same November election where Joe Biden was edging President Trump by 11,779 votes statewide. Georgia is one of two states that has a general election run-off law, meaning the top two finishing candidates would advance into a post-election December secondary vote should the first place finisher fail to attract majority support.

Such a scenario occurred five years ago, with Sen. Perdue finishing first in the general election, but who fell 13,471 votes short of securing a majority that would have clinched his re-election. The percentage total for the general election found Sen. Perdue topping Ossoff, 49.7 – 47.9 percent. In the runoff, fortunes turned as Ossoff pushed ahead at the December finish line, 50.6 – 49.4 percent, a margin of 54,944 votes from more than 4.48 million ballots cast.

In 2024, Trump scored a Georgia rebound, topping Kamala Harris, 50.7 – 48.5 percent. Two years earlier in the 2022 midterm election, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) topped former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D), 53-46 percent, and Republicans won eight of nine Georgia statewide races.

This most recent Peach State voting history creates optimism among the 2026 Republican candidates, thus making the Georgia Senate race the campaign likely to attract the most national political attention and possibly the most combined outside independent expenditure dollars.

The Georgia election system could yield a Republican Senate nomination also advancing into a secondary election. The Georgia primary is scheduled for May 19, 2026, with a runoff, if necessary because the first place finisher does not command majority support, to be scheduled for a Tuesday in June, likely the 16th or 23rd.

Others could still join the GOP race, but as the cycle unfolds and the fundraising leaders continue to pad their accounts further entries become more unlikely. Still said to be considering the race is Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, among others, but it appears more likely at this point in time that the Secretary will either seek re-election for a third term or run for the open Governor’s position.

In terms of the two House seats that Reps. Carter and presumably Collins will vacate, we can expect crowded Republican primary battles to form in the respective 1st and 10th Districts likely ending in tight results.

Both seats are safely Republican according to the Dave’s Redistricting App partisan lean calculations (GA:1 – 57.3R – 41.1D; GA-10 – 61.2R – 37.2D). In 2024, President Trump captured 57.6 percent in GA-1, and 60.1 percent in GA-10.

Even at this early date, the Georgia voting electorate will again be bombarded with very competitive 2026 campaign efforts over what promises to be a busy ballot from top to bottom.

Will Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst Run in 2026?

By Jim Ellis — Friday, July 18, 2025

Senate

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R)

There has been much public speculation as to whether two-term Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) will seek re-election next year, and such talk has heightened because of circumspect actions emanating from the incumbent.

On a local radio show this week, however, Sen. Ernst appeared to tamp down the rumors, indicating that such talk is “titter tatter.” The Senator further said an announcement is “coming in the fall,” but stopped short of saying she would make a declaration of candidacy. For the record, she has hired a campaign manager for the ’26 election cycle.

Sen. Ernst was first elected in 2014 with a 52-44 percent win over then-Rep. Bruce Braley (D). Ernst, then a state Senator, began that race as an underdog but built a strong campaign, took advantage of a favorable Republican election cycle, and won going away.

Six years later, she was a Democratic target and faced Des Moines real estate business executive Theresa Greenfield, who had more in the way of campaign resources and led the Senator in polling throughout most of the race. In the end, Sen. Ernst again finished strong and pulled away to record a victory exceeding six percentage points.

Early this year when questions abounded whether she would support then-Defense Secretary designate Pete Hegseth, rumors were flying that President Trump’s Iowa leaders were attempting to convince Attorney General Brenna Bird to challenge Sen. Ernst in the Republican primary.

After Ernst announced for Hegseth, which seemed to be the key proclamation that tipped the confirmation process in his favor, such primary challenge talk died down. Sen. Ernst, as did most Republicans, then supported every other Trump Administration nominee.

As a result, and at least for now, it does not appear that Sen. Ernst is threatened with a serious primary challenge, though she does face several opponents considered as minor candidates.

Preparing for the 2026 general election, this year appears differently. While there is talk that her re-election could become competitive, she is nowhere near the top of the Democratic conversion opportunity list, nor do the Democrats have a candidate who should be considered top-tier at this time.

State Sen. Zach Wahls (D-Des Moines), state Rep. J.D. Scholten (D-Sioux City), and Chamber of Commerce executive Nathan Sage have announced for the Senate. Of the three, Sen. Wahls is viewed as the strongest (Scholten has previously lost two congressional campaigns) but the eventual party nominee will have to win a competitive June Democratic primary before being in position to develop a credible bid against Sen. Ernst.

A viable challenge may unfold, but the type of general election campaign that can seriously threaten a multi-term incumbent in a state where the most recent voting trends are in the incumbent party’s favor, such as in Iowa, appears improbable.

Some, though, are pointing to Sen. Ernst’s 2nd quarter fundraising. While she raised just over $720,000 according to a report in The Down Ballot political blog, that dollar figure is only about 65 percent of the amount she garnered in the 2020 race during the commensurate time frame. Her cash-on-hand, however, appears strong — over $3.4 million for a race in a state without an expensive media market.

The fundraising data can also be explained not as a clue toward incumbent retirement, but rather illustrating that in 2020 Sen. Ernst was running her first re-election campaign and was considered a top-tier Democratic target. Neither of those points are true today.

Should the Senator reverse what now appears to be a course toward re-election, the Republicans have an ace in the proverbial bullpen. Three-term Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Marion/Cedar Rapids), a former local news anchor, has secured what had been a marginal political district featuring one of Iowa’s most Democratic metro areas. With more than $2.8 million in her own campaign account and not facing serious re-election pressure, Rep. Hinson is in position to quickly step in and fill the Senate void should Sen. Ernst ultimately retire.

In terms of the Hinson House seat, Republicans have a backup for this incumbent, too. Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell won her current position in the Democratic heart of Hinson’s 2nd Congressional District.

While speculation about Sen. Ernst’s future will continue until she makes a definitive re-election declaration, Republicans are in a very favorable position to hold the Iowa Senate seat regardless of the current incumbent’s eventual career decision.

Alabama’s Rep. Moore Schedules Announcement for Likely Senate Run

By Jim Ellis — Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Senate

Alabama Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise)

Alabama Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) has scheduled what he is terming “a Big Announcement,” for Aug. 15, and the supposition is he will declare his candidacy for the state’s open US Senate seat.

The major clue is the festival-type event he is holding in the city of Sylvania, which is in the northeastern sector and about as far from his southern Alabama congressional district one can get and still be within the state.

Assuming Rep. Moore runs for the Senate, his major Republican opponent, to date, will be Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is ineligible to seek a third term for his current position. Others are expected to join. The eventual Republican nominee will become the prohibitive favorite to win the general election.

The best potential Democratic contender would be the former Sen. Doug Jones, but he lost to now-Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) by a 60-40 percent margin in 2020, and the chance for a Democrat to win a Senate seat against a credible Republican in 2026 appears slim at best.

Jones won the special Senate election in 2017 against a flawed Republican candidate, former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, but was denied a full term in the succeeding regular election.

Jones, also a former US Attorney from the Northern District of Alabama, confirms he is considering returning to elective politics, but he may be leaning more toward running for the open Governor’s position and again facing Tuberville. He publicly states he is not fully committed to running for any office.

The Senate seat is open because incumbent Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach who still prefers his “Coach” title, has already announced his gubernatorial bid. Incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey (R) is term-limited.

If Rep. Moore were to leave the House to run for the Senate, that would open up his southern 1st District that stretches from Mobile in the far southwestern corner of Alabama along the southern Alabama-Florida border all the way to Georgia. The 1st is solidly Republican carrying a Dave’s Redistricting App partisan lean of 76.5R – 22.0D.

If this scenario were to unfold, it is likely that we will see a political comeback attempt in an open 1st District. When the courts ruled the 2021 Alabama map a racial gerrymander, a new map was installed for the 2024 election and beyond. The result, in addition to creating a new majority minority district in the Montgomery-Mobile area, paired Republican incumbents Moore and then-Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) into a new 1st District.

In a tough early March 2024 Republican primary campaign, Rep. Moore proved victorious in a 52-48 percent result, a margin of 3,644 votes of 104,268 cast ballots.

Since the election, former Rep. Carl has supported efforts to overturn the court-mandated map, but the US Supreme Court ordering new oral arguments on the Louisiana map, which has a similar issue to that in Alabama and would delay any redraw, suggests that odds are now strong that no new map will be installed in either place for the 2026 elections.

Carl had previously indicated he would run in the Mobile-anchored seat under a new map, so it is likely that he will return if the current 1st District becomes open. If so, we can expect a crowded 1st District Republican primary with the eventual nominee becoming a prohibitive favorite for the general election.

In terms of Rep. Moore’s Senate chances, should such a campaign materialize, at present he must be considered as a serious contender for the Republican nomination and therefore is a viable possibility as Sen. Tuberville’s successor.

Kentucky Senate: Off to a Nasty Start

By Jim Ellis — Friday, July 11, 2025

Senate

Republican businessman Nate Morris has fired the first salvo in the race to replace former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his native state of Kentucky, and the main target appears to be the retiring incumbent himself.

Though Sen. McConnell will be exiting Congress after what will be 42 years of legislative service, he is still a focal point in Kentucky politics. No stranger to being attacked, Sen. McConnell in this race appears to be the subject of “friendly” fire, considering that the assault vehicle is a Republican primary ad.

Norris owns a business that, by his own description, is a “trash company,” and one of the largest in the country. He is running for office for the first time and putting seven figures behind a new introductory ad that literally “trashes” Sen. McConnell and his Republican primary opponents, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Lexington) and former Attorney General and 2023 gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron.

Since Morris has the financial wherewithal to communicate his message, it appears the Kentucky Republican Senate primary will have a nasty tone. The ad attempts to depict the refuse removal businessman as the only pro-Trump candidate in the field, and that both Rep. Barr and Cameron, should they be elected, will “trash” President Trump, just as McConnell has done, according to the Morris ad verbiage.

If Morris plans to continue this line of attack, and it’s obvious that he will, it will be a tough sell. To claim that Rep. Barr and former AG Cameron are not Trump supporters is quite a leap. Barr was the first Kentucky US House member to endorse Trump for the 2024 campaign and then became chairman of the Trump Kentucky campaign effort. Cameron was an early Trump-endorsed candidate when he ran for Governor in 2023.

The Kentucky Senate seat is one of seven that will run in an open context next year. Six of the departing members, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are, like Sen. McConnell, retiring from politics. Another, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R), is leaving the Senate to run for Governor.

At the outset, the Kentucky race appears to be in the safe Republican column. That designation would change sharply if Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear were to enter the race. At this point, however, it appears Gov. Beshear has his sights set on a national run for President and is not considered a potential Senate candidate.

Democratic leaders are desperate to change Gov. Beshear’s mind because, if he were to reverse course, the Kentucky race would then become a toss-up for the general election. Keep in mind that the person Gov. Beshear defeated for re-election in 2023 (52.5 – 47.5 percent) was Cameron.

Therefore, should the former Attorney General and gubernatorial nominee again win the statewide party nomination, Beshear would have a very strong chance of winning the race and flipping the seat to the Democrats.

Should Rep. Barr face Gov. Beshear, the contest would become hard fought and very expensive with an ending difficult to predict.

The Kentucky primary is scheduled for May 19, and this Senate race promises to dominate the political coverage in the weeks before the vote especially if this early advertising theme is a preview of things to come.

Nebraska Senate:
Independent Osborn to Return

By Jim Ellis — Thursday, July 10, 2025

Senate

Nebraska US Senate candidate Dan Osborn (I)

We’re about to see a partial rerun in the upcoming Nebraska Senate race.

For a time during the 2024 election cycle, Nebraska Independent US Senate candidate Dan Osborn looked like he might pull a stunning upset. Towards the end, the momentum fundamentally shifted, and he lost to Sen. Deb Fischer (R) by a 53.2 – 46.5 percent margin. Osborn announced on Tuesday that he would return for a second try, this time against Republican Senator and former two-term Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Throughout the previous campaign cycle’s latter stage, Osborn was posting strong poll numbers and attracting viable financial support in his race against Sen. Fischer. He was also the beneficiary of significant national political attention.

Though an Independent, he was the de facto Democratic nominee since the party did not file a candidate in the Fischer race, which obviously helped transform Osborn into a major contender. Osborn claimed, however, that he did not accept the Democratic endorsement.

Additionally, even his last name helped him for a time. In the early part of the 2024 cycle, there was confusion among some thinking that Osborn was, or is related to, Hall of Fame college football coach, former Congressman, and Nebraska legend Tom Osborne. An ad from Coach Osborne for the Fischer campaign clarified the matter.

Characterizing his new campaign against Sen. Ricketts as “The Billionaire Class vs. The Working Class,” Osborn formally announced that he would return to again campaign for the Senate in 2026.

In his ’24 race, the Osborn campaign reported total financial receipts of $15.13 million, largely from Democratic sources outside of the state. The Ricketts campaign was quick to jump on Osborn through spokesman Will Coup saying, “Dan Osborn is bought and paid for by his liberal, out-of-state, coastal donors. Dan Osborn will side with Chuck Schumer over Nebraska families and vote with Democrats to open the border, hike taxes, and stop the America First agenda.”

Osborn retorted saying, “I didn’t ask for that money. This time around, I’m not going to ask for it again. The Democrats are going to do what the Democrats do, and Republicans are going to do what the Republicans are going to do. And I just want to show the people that an Independent can win in a state like Nebraska or any state, for that matter.” Yet Osborn did not refuse to accept any of the Democratic money that came into the campaign and likely won’t this time, either.

Earlier this year, Osborn was assessing his chances in the state’s politically marginal 2nd Congressional District, a seat he carried against Sen. Fischer with a margin greater than 42,000 votes.

The Nebraska Democratic Party leadership, however, said the organization would not endorse Osborn in a 2nd District race because a Democratic nominee has a good chance of winning the congressional campaign. They would be open, however, to supporting him in a race against Ricketts or GOP Gov. Jim Pillen.

Considering how well Osborn performed in the 2nd District during the 2024 campaign, his decision to bypass the open House seat and run again for the Senate is curious. Even though he wouldn’t have Democratic Party support, it is reasonable to believe his chances of winning a competitive three-way race in the Omaha anchored US House seat are better than waging a long-shot challenge against Sen. Ricketts.

While Osborn will likely attract a significant amount of national political publicity based upon his previous campaign, and money will certainly come from national liberal individuals and sources, a race against Sen. Ricketts will be considerably difficult irrespective of how the national political climate might develop.

In his three statewide races since first being elected Governor in 2014, Ricketts has averaged 59.6% of the vote. This figure includes his 62.6 – 37.4 percent lone US Senate victory in 2024. Ricketts entered the Senate as the appointed replacement for incumbent Ben Sasse (R) when Sasse resigned to head the University of Florida. As such, Sen. Ricketts had to run in 2024 to fill the balance of the unexpired term and now must enter into another campaign to secure a full six-year stint.

The 2026 Nebraska Senate race again promises to launch some political fireworks, but it is highly likely that the end result will once again place Pete Ricketts in the winner’s circle on election night.

Allred Joins Texas Race

By Jim Ellis — Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Senate

Former Texas Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas) / Photo: ReformAustin.org

Former Congressman and ex-Senate nominee Colin Allred (D) is returning to the campaign scene. Late last week, Allred formally announced his 2026 US Senate candidacy and is “pledging to be a better candidate.”

Despite his self-deprecating comment, Allred proved himself an able candidate and certainly a prolific fundraiser, accumulating $94.7 million for his 2024 statewide Senate campaign against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R). The dollar amount was the fourth-largest raised nationally among all individual Senate candidates. The money did not help Allred secure victory, however, since he lost to Sen. Cruz by a 53-45 percent margin.

As many believed would be the case, 2024 was not the year Texas would flip to the Democrats considering that then-President Biden’s energy and border policies were proving harmful to the Lone Star State. In addition to Allred losing by a much greater margin than polling suggested, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris fell to President Trump by an even larger 56-42 percent count.

Now, Allred is counting on a better Democratic political climate due to the budding and likely divisive Senate Republican primary between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Therefore, the 2026 situation may be better aligned for a Texas Senate Democratic nominee.

Because a dozen 2025 polls have all found Paxton leading Cornyn, Democrats see a chance for victory against a weaker general election candidate if the scandal-tainted Attorney General follows through and prevails in next March’s GOP primary.

Allred, however, may not have a clear path to the Democratic nomination. Former Congressman, ex-presidential candidate and Senate nominee Beto O’Rourke, and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) continue to say that they are considering entering the Senate race even after the Allred announcement.

Though O’Rourke and Castro may be considering running, it is probable that neither will launch their candidacy. Rep. Castro has flirted with running statewide before but has always backed away. He would clearly begin a race against Allred as an underdog.

Beto O’Rourke once had a promising political future when he left the House in the 2018 election cycle to challenge Sen. Cruz and held him to a 51-48 percent win after running a strong campaign. He then immediately jumped into the 2020 presidential campaign but was an early exit after a disastrous start. He then returned to Texas to launch an ill-fated 2022 run against Gov. Greg Abbott (R), losing by an 11-point margin, 55-44 percent.

An interesting development occurred on the Republican side just before the Allred announcement that suggests a possible change in direction. Yet another GOP primary poll had been released showing Sen. Cornyn again trailing Paxton by a large margin (Pulse Decision Science; June 17-22; 806 likely Texas Republican primary voters; Paxton 57 – Cornyn 38 percent), potentially prompting the four-term incumbent, for the first time, to make a statement hinting that he might not run. Sen. Cornyn stated publicly that ‘if a Republican candidate were to come forward who he was confident would beat Paxton,’ the Senator would step aside.

Turning to potential general election pairings, the most recent poll that tested Allred against the Republicans was released in May. YouGov, polling for Texas Southern University (May 9-19; 1,200 registered Texas voters; online), actually found very little difference between Cornyn and Paxton as the prospective Republican nominee against Allred.

From their ballot test result, Sen. Cornyn led Allred 48-44 percent. Paxton fared similarly in that he also led Allred, but by a slightly smaller 48-46 percent spread.

Polling in Texas was considerably inaccurate in 2024 and demonstrated the recurring flaw of underestimating Republican strength. According to the Real Clear Politics polling archives’ cumulative data, 17 polls were conducted of the Trump-Harris race in Texas and the President led by an average of just under seven percentage points. The final result found him carrying the state by almost 14 points.

The Cruz-Allred race was polled in similar fashion. A total of 15 polls from 11 different pollsters were conducted from August through early November of 2024 and, again with cumulative data from the Real Clear Politics polling archives, the race was miscast. The polling average found Sen. Cruz lead at just over four points, yet he won the election with an 8.5 percentage point spread.

Considering that recent election year polling tends to undercut Republican strength, and particularly so in the south, it is likely that both Sen. Cornyn and AG Paxton hold at least somewhat stronger margins over Allred than the early published polling suggests.

There is no question that the Texas Senate race will again be a 2026 political focal point from the beginning of next year until the election cycle closes. We can expect a very competitive campaign with a tighter finish than those consistently seen from the Texas electorate.

Early Jockeying in the Post-Tillis North Carolina Senate Field

By Jim Ellis — Monday, July 7, 2025

Senate

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) / Photo by Gage Skidmore

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis’s (R) surprise retirement announcement has jump-started the state’s political action.

The prevailing analysis so far is that the Tar Heel State Republicans are in a more difficult position regarding holding this seat than had Sen. Tillis continued to run for re-election. While he has the incumbency advantage, Tillis still has not proven himself to be a particularly strong vote-getter. In fact, he won both of his statewide elections with less than 49 percent of the vote.

In 2014, he defeated then-Sen. Kay Hagan (D), so winning with only a plurality is understandable in such a situation. In 2020, however, while President Trump was again carrying North Carolina, Sen. Tillis defeated a flawed Democratic candidate, former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, who was carrying on an extramarital affair that became public in the campaign’s late stages. Even with that break, Sen. Tillis could only manage a 48.7 – 46.9 percent re-election victory.

Now, with Tillis being at odds with President Trump and the latter searching for a Republican primary opponent to support, the Senator’s position would likely have been weakened even further. Therefore, the Republicans being able to start fresh with a new nominee may prove to their benefit.

Turning to the Democrats, the party leadership is largely frozen in place until former Gov. Roy Cooper makes a decision about running for the Senate. Originally saying he would decide about challenging Sen. Tillis before the end of this summer, a renewed Democratic leadership push to get him into the race is sure to be accelerated now that the seat will be open. In response to the currently unfolding events, the former North Carolina chief executive again said it will be weeks before he makes a final decision.

Cooper, like many other Democratic Governors or former Governors, has presidential aspirations, so it would not be surprising to see him bypass a Senate race in order to launch a presidential campaign immediately after the 2026 midterm elections.

Already in the 2026 Senate race is former Congressman Wiley Nickel (D) who has been campaigning for weeks. Originally Nickel said he would step aside for Cooper, but as time passed with no response from Cooper, the Nickel went ahead and officially entered the campaign.

The party holds five of the 10 North Carolina statewide offices, including the three most prominent: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, so the Democrats have good options beyond former Gov. Cooper.

Yet, all three of those incumbents were just elected in November. It appears highly unlikely that Gov. Josh Stein (D), who assumed his position in January, will decide to enter the Senate race, but Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, the daughter of former four-term Gov. Jim Hunt (D), and Attorney General Jeff Jackson could become candidates.

Chances are good that we will also see a crowded Republican field form but with no contender having dominant statewide name identification; that is, with the exception of presidential daughter-in-law and Fox News host Lara Trump, who will inevitably be mentioned in every pre-election article. Trump, though now living in Florida, is a North Carolina native and sending early signals that she would consider running.

Announced as Republican primary candidates even before Sen. Tillis decided to retire are three minor contenders: businessman Brooks Agnew, author Don Brown, and retired businessman and former Lieutenant Governor candidate Andy Nilsson.

Three members of the congressional delegation have already been mentioned as considering the race: Reps. Greg Murphy (R-Greenville), and freshmen Pat Harrigan (R-Hickory), and Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain), the former state House Speaker.

National Republican Congressional Committee chairman and seven-term Rep. Richard Hudson (R-Southern Pines) was also considered a potential candidate but has already said he will not run. Rep. Hudson is on a leadership track in the House, and indicates he prefers to remain in his current position with future potential opportunity of moving up the leadership ladder.

Since North Carolina is known for hosting close elections and being a place where the nominee from either party can win any statewide election, the state’s open Senate race will become one of next year’s key electoral focal points.