NEW FROM NBC NEWS: Michael Whatley Exposed For Repeatedly Lying To North Carolinians About Being From North Carolina

NBC News: “He frequently talks about how he ‘grew up’ in the tiny town of Blowing Rock in western North Carolina […] But records show that Whatley spent most of his childhood away from North Carolina.” 

NBC News: “Jason Husser, a political science professor at Elon University in North Carolina, said the issue could impact voters’ perception of Whatley’s authenticity.”

New reporting from NBC News is exposing DC insider Michael Whatley for lying to North Carolinians by frequently telling voters he “grew up” in Blowing Rock and is a “son of Western North Carolina.” The truth? Whatley was born and raised in Michigan and didn’t move until he was a sophomore in high school, spending only about three years in Blowing Rock.

Whatley also declined to correct an interviewer claiming he was a “North Carolina native” — suggesting both that there is wide confusion about Whatley’s biography due to his comments about his upbringing on the campaign trail, and that it was advantageous for Whatley not to correct the misinformation.

Whatley – whose “résumé has largely been de-emphasized on the campaign trail” after he was previously caught trying to hide his lobbying career – is building his campaign around lie after lie.

Read More:

NBC News: Michael Whatley’s Michigan roots largely disappear from his bio as he runs for Senate in North Carolina

Matt Dixon | June 25th, 2026

• Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, moved to North Carolina when he was in high school. He frequently says he is a “son” of the state and “grew up” there.
• An NBC News review found that Whatley has used some variation of that line at least 15 times since he announced his Senate run in July.
• But records show that Whatley spent most of his childhood away from North Carolina. He was born in Michigan and stayed there until his early high school years. He then lived in Blowing Rock for roughly three years before going elsewhere in the state for college.
• [DJ Griffin, Whatley’s campaign communications director] added that Whatley “became an adult” in western North Carolina.
• It’s a different sentiment than Whatley uses regularly on the political stump.
• His own campaign website says he was “raised in Blowing Rock” and makes no mention of his Michigan roots.
• Whatley has been careful not to say that he was born there, according to interviews reviewed by NBC News. He has, however, not always corrected others when they say so.
• During an Election Day radio interview in 2024, a local host referred to Whatley, who at the time was RNC chair, as a “North Carolina native” to start the interview. It went unchecked as the two went on to discuss Trump’s presidential campaign.
• That résumé has largely been de-emphasized on the campaign trail, replaced instead by the idea he was raised in North Carolina as he runs in a nationally watched Senate race against Cooper…
• Jason Husser, a political science professor at Elon University in North Carolina, said the issue could impact voters’ perception of Whatley’s authenticity.

###