North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis is under fire from President Donald Trump, who announced via social media this weekend that he may support a primary challenger to Tillis in the 2026 Senate race. The move comes after Tillis opposed advancing Trump’s high-profile legislative proposal—the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—in a narrowly divided US Senate vote.
In posts on Truth Social, Trump blasted Tillis for what he called a “BIG MISTAKE,” saying, “Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis. I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks looking for someone to properly represent the Great People of North Carolina.” In several posts, Trump accused Tillis of grandstanding and being “missing in action.”
The vote, which stalled at 51-49, saw Tillis and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky as the only Republicans to side with Democrats in blocking the bill’s progress. The sweeping legislation, central to the Trump administration’s agenda, includes provisions to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, eliminate taxes on tips, increase border enforcement funding, and repeal green energy tax credits.
Tillis, however, cited his concerns about the bill’s impact on Medicaid funding and hospital reimbursements in North Carolina, arguing that its current form would have significant financial repercussions because North Carolina expanded Medicaid in 2023, adding more than 600,000 able-bodied, working-age adults to the state Medicaid entitlement program.
A Brewing GOP Civil War
Trump’s attack on Tillis adds to mounting tensions within the Republican Party, particularly in North Carolina, where the senator has long positioned himself as a pragmatist willing to reach across the aisle. That approach, once a political asset, is now increasingly viewed as a liability with a growing Republican base in North Carolina fiercely loyal to Trump.
In a May poll conducted by Carolina Journal, Tillis suffers the lowest net image in the poll at 26% favorability.
So far, Andy Nilsson of the Triad has already declared candidacy for the primary, sporting a Trump hat, despite a history of creating an alternative Republican convention to oppose Trump with former Republican Bob Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice. In addition, 2024 congressional candidate Don Brown has declared his plans to challenge Tillis in the GOP primary.
There have been rumors of other candidates weighing a primary challenge to Tillis. Michele Morrow, the 2024 Republican nominee for state superintendent of public instruction, is believed to be considering a primary run against Tillis. Morrow unseated incumbent Republican Catherine Truitt in the 2024 primary but lost to Democrat Mo Green in November. Since then, she’s launched a national education nonprofit.
A Victory Insights poll conducted last summer shows Tillis trailing far behind Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and a Wilmington native, in a hypothetical GOP primary. Lara Trump leads with 65% support among likely Republican voters, compared to just 11% for Tillis.
On the Democrat side, former Congressman Wiley Nickel has already thrown his hat in the ring for Tillis’ seat, but most eyes are on former Gov. Roy Cooper to potentially challenge Tillis. A Democrat with statewide name recognition and deep fundraising capabilities, polling indicates Cooper could have a slight advantage over Republican contenders in a general election matchup.
In the Victory poll, a matchup between Cooper and Tillis shows the former governor leading the senator, 45.1%-44.1%. If Cooper were to face Lara Trump, his edge is slightly larger, 45.5%-44.3%.
The Tillis Legacy in North Carolina Politics
Tillis has been a fixture in North Carolina politics for nearly two decades. He joined the General Assembly in 2007 as a state representative from Mecklenburg County and quickly climbed the ranks to become speaker of the North Carolina House in 2011. His tenure was marked by an aggressive conservative agenda that included tax reform and regulatory rollbacks.
In 2014, Tillis won a hard-fought Senate race against incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan. He narrowly won re-election in 2020, defeating Democrat Cal Cunningham in one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races in the nation that year.
Despite these victories, Tillis has faced ongoing friction with the GOP’s right flank. In 2023, the North Carolina Republican Party formally censured him, signaling the internal challenges he would face in defending his seat in 2026.
Tillis enters the 2026 election cycle in likely the most precarious position of his political career, squeezed between a conservative base loyal to Trump and a general electorate that is more purple and potentially up for grabs. Once seen as a pragmatic bridge-builder in the Senate, Tillis now finds himself fending off criticism from the right and Democrats eyeing his vulnerability.
The post Trump targets Tillis over vote, hints at 2026 primary challenge first appeared on Carolina Journal.
The post Trump targets Tillis over vote, hints at 2026 primary challenge appeared first on First In Freedom Daily.
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Author: Donna King
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