Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Sunday announced he will not seek reelection to the Senate next year, firing a political shockwave into the midterm cycle after he said he would oppose President Trump’s mammoth tax package.
“As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term,” Tillis said in a statement. “That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home.
“It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,” he said.
The announcement comes after Trump attacked him relentlessly in recent days over his opposition to the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill.” Tillis was one of two Republicans who voted against advancing it on the floor Saturday night.
The president on Saturday night went so far as to threaten to back a primary challenger against him next year.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump wrote. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.”
He kept up the harsh words Sunday, labeling the North Carolina senator a “talker and complainer, NOT A DOER!”
The news has major ramifications on the upcoming midterms.
The North Carolina Senate seat was widely considered the toughest for the majority party to defend next year and that job will likely only get more difficult with Tillis bowing out.
Democrats in the Tar Heel State and in Washington have been waiting to find out whether North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) will take the plunge for the high-stakes contest.
The Senate GOP’s campaign arm on Sunday insisted that Tillis’s decision does little to dissuade their belief that Republicans will continue to hold the seat after next year.
“President Trump has won North Carolina three times, and the state’s been represented by two Republican Senators for over a decade,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s chairman, in a statement. “That streak will continue in 2026 when North Carolinians elect a conservative leader committed to advancing an agenda of opportunity, prosperity, and security.“
One GOP operative noted that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is viewed “very favorably” by the White House and Senate GOP leadership as a possible entrant in the race. Whatley previously ran the North Carolina state GOP.
Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) was also previously considering a run, the operative said.
The decision by the two-term senator to stand aside also marks the latest in a string of more moderate members departing the upper chamber, a dynamic Tillis referenced in his statement.
Tillis has been a key player in numerous bipartisan negotiations in recent years, including on the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one,” Tillis said after rattling off a number of those items before bemoaning the retirements of the likes of former Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) last cycle.
“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” he said, hailing the two ex-Democrats as “two such leaders who were dedicated to making the Senate more of a functional and productive legislative body.”
“They got things done. But they were shunned after they courageously refused to cave to their party bosses to nuke the filibuster for the sake of political expediency. They ultimately retired and their presence in the Senate chamber has been sorely missed every day since,” he said. “It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics. When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.”
“Too many elected officials are motivated by pure raw politics who really don’t give a damn about the people they promised to represent on the campaign trail,” he continued. “After they get elected, they don’t bother to do the hard work to research the policies they seek to implement and understand the consequences those policies could have on that young adult living in a trailer park, struggling to make ends meet.”
Senate Republicans hold a three-seat advantage, which Democrats are hoping to chip away at, if not overturn fully in next year’s elections, with the seats occupied by Tillis and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) standing as their top targets.
“Thom Tillis’ decision not to run for reelection is another blow to Republicans’ chances as they face a midterm backlash that puts their majority at risk,” said Maeve Coyle, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson. “Even Tillis admits the GOP plan to slash Medicaid and spike costs for families is toxic.”
“In 2026, Democrats will flip North Carolina’s Senate seat,” Coyle added.
Updated at 2:22 p.m.