GOP Senator Thom Tillis announces he will not seek re-election
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, pictured during a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing in February, announced Sunday that he will not seek re-election in 2026. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
June 29 (UPI) -- Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C, said Sunday that he would not seek re-election, opening up a seat in a state that was already considered a battleground in the 2026 midterm elections.
Tillis made the announcement after voting against a procedural measure Saturday night to clear the way for debate on the Senate version of the Trump administration's budget reconciliation bill.
"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 sent to media outlets.
"That is true since the choice is between spending another six years 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."
President Donald Trump threatened Tillis with a primary challenge in N.C. in the 2026 midterms following the GOP Senator's vote against moving the budget bill to the Senate floor for debate.
Trump took to social media to criticize Tillis.
"Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Saturday night.
In a statement following the vote Saturday night, Tillis said he was putting the interests of his constituents above party politics.
"I did my homework on behalf of North Carolinians, and I cannot support this bill in its current form," Tillis wrote.
"It would result in tens of billions of dollars in funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities."
Tillis also noted that proposed cuts would impact rural hospitals and fall squarely on Medicaid recipients who rely on the program as their only source of medical insurance.
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