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Now that two-term N.C. Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis has announced that he will not be seeking reelection to a third term in 2026, who are now considered viable candidates for his office?
Last weekend, that was the hottest question between Raleigh and Washington, D.C., as Sen. Tillis announced he was stepping down after refusing to vote for President Donald Trump’s bill which would cut Medicaid and shift money from working and middle- class Americans to the ultra-wealthy in the form of tax breaks. Trumps so-called “big, beautiful bill…will force [North Carolina] to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population.”
Tillis added that bipartisanship was now a thing of the past in Washington, D.C., and he preferred stepping down to not being able to work with his Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
Most political observers say if anything, Tillis is doing himself a favor. Trump spent part of the weekend rhetorically going after Tillis for refusing to support a bill that most non-Republican critics say is the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in America history.
Trump vowed to find a tough right-wing primary challenger in North Carolina against Tillis as punishment for the North Carolina senator not supporting his measure.
So, which Republicans could now vie in a primary contest to replace Tillis? Heavy speculation is that Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, may now be the most prominent name available to fill the void. Per the GOP, it may be too early for anyone else to announce, but on the Democratic side, likely prospects have long been salivating at the chance to take the U.S. Senate seat held by Tillis.
Former North Carolina Congressman Wiley Nickel is the first Democrat to make his intentions known, even before Sen. Tillis announced his decision not to run. Nickel has also served in the N.C. Senate for four years but he has never held a statewide office.
A second Democrat with statewide name recognition and a proven record as a political moderate of attracting voters from urban and rural areas of the state is former Gov. Roy Cooper, who just completed his mandated two terms in office. Cooper is respected by the national Democratic Party machine, so much so that he was seriously considered to run for vice president in 2024 with then presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
If Sen. Tillis was indeed running for reelection, observers say he would legitimately fear a Roy Cooper candidacy.
No doubt, with the 2026 primaries scheduled for next March, and the candidate filing ending in December, candidates for Sen. Tillis’ seat on both sides will be making themselves known sooner than later so that their campaigns can begin crucial fundraising.
Observers say the winner of this 2026 midterm contest could determine the balance of the U.S. Senate, which currently has a Republican majority.
