Senate Majority Leader John Thune picked RNC chairman Mike Whatley, the second choice for his current post after stupid Ronna Not-Romney was finally decapitated last year, as his second choice to be the next North Carolina Senator after after stupid Lara Trump decided she didn’t want to risk losing to a popular two-term former gov in what could be a rough year for MAGA, Axios reports.

Of course being the not-actually-a-paper of record for a distinct subspecies of donor class douche who fondled with happy groans over their Youngkin 2024 fantasy on-and-off in 2023, Axios (not-incorrectly) identifies Whatley’s fundraising chops as secret sauce going into the race and does not at any point identify what other public, general elections Whatley has actually won.

Instead it’s a “thrilling” minute-by-minute recall of how Whatley 2026 was born. “Then, on July 16, Whatley attended a reception hosted by the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund PAC. During the gathering, which was attended by about 75 top donors and senators, the Republican leader introduced Whatley as the party’s nominee for North Carolina Senate,” Axios writes like they think Robert A Caro might see it and send a handwritten note praising their masterful composition.

So pretty on-brand for a crew whose only coin of the realm is coin and not like… votes. In fact there’s a reason why they left out Mike Whatley’s record of running for public office and winning and you already guessed what it is. But you know, the reception he got from 75 top donors must’ve been huge. He’s game to beat a Democrat who won twice in a Red State with Donald Trump on the ballot.

Not saying this race is a slam-dunk for Roy Cooper. It’ll be tough, for the very reasons Axios was so erect. But you also have to ask yourself, if for maybe just a few seconds, whether Lara Trump would be running if the Dem primary field was wide open for former Congressman Willey Nickel.