Following President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and the Trump family’s departure from the White House earlier this year, talk has spread of who will continue the Trump legacy and seek a position in an elected office. Most of the speculation revolves around Donald Trump Jr., whose loyalty to his father during the 2020 campaign led to rumors of the possibility of a future presidential campaign of his own. On the other hand, others doubt that the former president’s eldest son is interested in seeking a position for himself. Some also say Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump’s eldest daughter and another one of his strong supporters during the last election, might run for senator in Florida. However, she never directly indicated that she will run for office and recently mentioned that she would not want to challenge GOP Senator Marco Rubio. 

Unlike his two older siblings, Eric Trump has not pursued a political career, allowing the spotlight to remain on his wife, 38-year-old Lara Trump. As a former personal trainer and television producer, Lara Trump has never held public office, but she did work as a senior adviser in the 2020 Trump campaign.

“She’s very charismatic, she understands retail politics well, and has a natural instinct for politics,” praised Mercedes Schlapp, an adviser who worked alongside Lara Trump for last year’s campaign. “In North Carolina, in particular, she’s a household name… She worked really hard on the campaign and was very involved in a lot of decisions throughout.”

Born in Wilmington, Lara Trump is well known and loved by the state’s residents. The North Carolina native even expressed her own love for the state when she named her second child, Carolina. However, as her family is currently living in New York and they would need to relocate in order for her to run in the state.

If Lara Trump does decide to run, the weight of the Trump name is questionable; former President Trump only won in North Carolina’s 2020 election by a mere 1.3 percentage points—a margin that shrank in half since the 2016 election. Nonetheless, Trump loyalists in the state would be glad to have Lara Trump replace current GOP Senator Richard Burr, who was one of just seven Republican senators to convict the former president in the impeachment trial.

Other Republican senators welcome Lara Trump’s possible candidacy for the seat being vacated by Burr. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, said, “My friend Richard Burr just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs. I certainly would be behind her. I think she represents the future of the Republican Party.”

While many Republicans say that Lara Trump could certainly defeat GOP contenders in the primary, her last name could galvanize Democratic voters to prevent her from winning.

Lara Trump has not yet announced whether she will seek election but in a past interview, she did mention that she was keeping the option open. She has declined to comment on her future plans, leaving room for further speculation. If Lara Trump chooses to run for senator, her candidacy will test the influence of the Trump name following the former president’s unsuccessful re-election effort.