North Carolina is a pivotal battleground state and the Senate race is one of the premier contests of the upcoming midterm elections.

President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Thursday said she would not run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina next year, setting the stage for an expected matchup of former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.

Michael Whatley, chair of the Republican National Committee, plans to launch a campaign for Senate in North Carolina after Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, chose not to run, according to three people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his plans have not been publicly announced.

President Donald Trump’s fraught effort to install political appointees in permanent roles as US attorneys across the country gained momentum this week, as Republicans work to jumpstart a stalled confirmation process in the Senate,

By withdrawing her nomination to the permanent position, President Trump was able to reinstall Alina Habba as the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, where she can serve another 210 days. This maneuver allows Trump to bypass the choice of the federal judges in the district: a career prosecutor who was promptly fired by the Trump Justice Department when the judges elevated her.