Just hours after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced he will not seek reelection in 2026, Fox News host Lara Trump is reportedly preparing for a high-profile political move.
According to multiple reports, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump is “strongly considering” a run for Tillis’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat — a move that could dramatically reshape the Republican primary field before it even forms.
NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard and NOTUS’s Reese Gorman reported over the weekend that sources close to Lara Trump say her candidacy is all but certain. One insider told Hillyard, “I’d put it as high as one could be considering it … The race will be over before it begins.”
This isn’t the first time Lara Trump’s name has surfaced in Senate speculation. Back in 2020, she floated the idea of running in North Carolina before ultimately stepping aside. She was later mentioned as a possible replacement for Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida, but again opted out, choosing instead to launch her own show on Fox News, My View with Lara Trump, earlier this year.
The timing of her potential campaign announcement appears to line up with signals coming from her father-in-law. Just hours before Tillis made his retirement official, Donald Trump hinted on Truth Social that challengers were already lining up to take on the incumbent.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.”
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