Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, looks on, before President Trump signs the "Genius Act", which will develop regulatory framework for stablecoin cryptocurrencies and expand oversight of the industry, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law and former Republican Party co-chair Lara Trump has decided for a second time that she will not run for the U.S. Senate.
Trump had been suspected to try to replace Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who announced recently he was retiring after disagreements with the president.
"Lara Trump is the rare person to have passed on trying for Senate seats in two different states within a few months (she took herself out of consideration for appointment to Rubio's former seat in Florida just in December)," noted CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere.
Former Sen. Marco Rubio left the Senate to become Trump's Secretary of State. Lara — who is from North Carolina — and her husband, Eric Trump, own a home in Florida.
Last week, NBC News reporter Garrett Haake said that Lara Trump claimed she would make the decision on the seat by Thanksgiving, but the decision evidently came much sooner.
She made the announcement on X where she said, "While I am not running in this election, my passion for Making America Great Again burns brightly, and I look forward to the future, wherever that leads."
Politico reported Thursday that RNC Chair and long-time Trump ally, Michael Whatley, will announce he will seek the seat instead.
"If you Senate as well as you sing you should be losing that election in no time!" mocked filmmaker Jeremy Newberger, referring to her second career as a recording artist.
"No Lara Trump in NC. Good," wrote John Robinson, a former editor for the News and Record in North Carolina.