Sen. Thom Tillis avoids censure at NCGOP convention despite MAGA backlash
Back in 2023, the North Carolina Republican Party censured Sen. Thom Tillis during its annual convention for 'blatant violations' of the party's platform.
This year, after Tillis opposed some of President Donald Trump's nominees and policies and MAGA conservatives pushed for a 2026 primary challenger, another censure vote seemed possible.
But at the party's convention, which took place from June 5 through Sunday, no such action was taken, signaling a smoother path to re-election for Tillis — at least for now.
'Republicans across the state look forward to a robust primary and the convention shows Republicans are unified to keep our Senate seat to ensure President Trump's agenda has the votes in Congress to continue delivering for the American people,' said NCGOP spokesperson Matt Mercer in a message following the convention, held this year in Greensboro.
Mercer said no censure motions were introduced this year.
MAGA Republicans have taken issue with Tillis in the past few months for questioning Trump's pick of Pete Hegseth, as Defense secretary, though, Tillis ultimately voted for Hegseth.
Tillis told Trump he wouldn't confirm Ed Martin as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia due to their differing views on the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Tillis says he has 'no tolerance for anyone who entered' the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Tillis is also pushing back on provisions within a more than 1,000-page reconciliation bill that Trump and House Republicans named the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act.' Chief among Tillis' concerns are 'no tax on tips,' a campaign promise Trump made, and cutting clean energy tax credits.
The friction is not new.
Since joining the Senate, Tillis has found himself at odds with far-right factions of his party for his willingness to work with Democrats and decisions they've seen as disloyal to Trump.
Once widely favored by the party, Tillis' favorability is on shaky ground.
Tillis has been a mainstay in North Carolina politics, beginning his political career on local boards in Cornelius before being elected in 2006 to the North Carolina House.
There, Tillis worked his way into leadership positions, and served as the House Republican Caucus campaign chairman where he traveled across the state recruiting Republicans to run for office. He is credited with playing a significant role in taking the House majority away from Democrats.
Republican House members rewarded him by electing him speaker of the House, where he led the chamber through debates on same-sex marriage, election laws, Medicaid expansion and restructuring the state tax code.
By the time he ran against Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, The New York Times called Tillis 'a favorite among the party establishment.'
But that sentiment faded as Tillis found his footing in Congress and established himself as a moderate willing to work with Democrats to get major pieces of legislation passed.
That led to Tillis' first censure in 2023, for voting in favor of same-sex marriage and working on the largest piece of gun legislation passed in 30 years.
Two years prior, the state party censured then-Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, after he voted to impeach President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Tillis, 64, a Huntersville Republican, is running for a third term in 2026.
He was first elected in 2014, defeating Hagan, who served one term.
And he's one of 53 Republicans helping to hold the party's slim majority in the Senate, over the minority's 47 seats.
MAGA conservatives have taken to social media to call for a primary challenger to Tillis in 2026, though no candidate has emerged.
Contenders they floated early on included names like former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson or Lara Trump. She's the president's daughter-in-law, who grew up in North Carolina but resides in Florida and just joined Fox News.
Neither seem likely.
Don Brown, a retired Navy JAG officer, and Andy Nilsson, a retired businessman, threw their names out to challenge Tillis, but neither have large name recognition.
Democrats are waiting to learn whether former Gov. Roy Cooper, who left office in January after being term-limited out, will challenge Tillis.
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat from Cary who has a history of winning challenging races but has not yet run statewide, jumped ahead of Cooper and announced he would seek the Democratic nomination.
Tillis announced last week he has added big names to his campaign team including three people who served on Trump's reelection campaign: Tony Fabrizio, Tim Saler and Jim McCray.
The 2026 election in North Carolina is expected to be the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history, a record Tillis broke twice in his race against Hagan and again in 2020 against attorney Cal Cunningham.
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