Lara Trump, 38, the president’s daughter-in-law, is reportedly weighing a run for Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, when the North Carolina seat currently held by three-term retiring U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) will become vacant.
The New York Times, citing “three allies,” reports that Lara Trump has told “associates” that she is considering running for the North Carolina Senate seat. Politico, citing “two people familiar with her plans,” also reports that Trump is considering the bid.
A former television producer and professional pastry chef, Lara Trump currently lives in New York with her husband Eric Trump but was raised in North Carolina. She also attended college at North Carolina State University and named her daughter Carolina.
In the 2020 presidential election, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) beat his Democratic challenger by less than two points. As such, the Republican who wins the primary fight for the seat would also need to prepare to continue campaigning into the general election season.
“She would be formidable,” Kellyanne Conway, the president’s 2016 campaign manager and former counselor, told the Times of Lara Trump. “She has the trifecta: She can raise money, raise awareness of key issues and raise attention to her race. Unlike many typical politicians, she connects with people and is a compelling messenger.”
Throughout the 2020 general election season, Lara Trump served as an advisor to the president’s campaign and made trips to North Carolina on behalf of the campaign.
“You look at things like for single mothers doubling the child tax credit, that was a huge thing for single moms out there,” Lara Trump told local station WWAY News while visiting Brunswick County, North Carolina. “It’s been a little shocking actually to see on the other side how they really haven’t felt like they needed to get out and campaign, but we have taken it very seriously and North Carolina is a must-win state for us. It’s my home state, we were really proud of the win here in 2016.”
Earlier in the month, Lara Trump made a campaign stop on behalf of the president in Wilmington, North Carolina, several miles from her childhood hometown of Wrightsville Beach, as reported by The Wilmington StarNews.
“She’s very charismatic, she understands retail politics well, and has a natural instinct for politics,” said Mercedes Schlapp, an adviser to the president’s campaign. “In North Carolina, in particular, she’s a household name and people know her. She worked really hard on the campaign and was very involved in a lot of decisions throughout.”
Trump did not comment on any potential Senate plans to The New York Times.
Other contenders for the North Carolina Senate seat could include Mark Meadows, the congressman who stepped down to become chief of staff to the president, and Congressman Mark Walker (R-NC), who Politico reports briefly considered a primary challenge against Tillis last year.