North Carolina's 2026 Senate race wide open after Tillis bows out
Sen. Thom Tillis announces he is not running for reelection
The most interesting 2026 race in the country just got more interesting.
Tillis is not running. There are three Republicans who Channel 9 government reporter Joe Bruno is keeping an eye on in the race to replace him as the GOP nominee.
First is Lara Trump. The president's daughter-in-law is a North Carolina native. Bruno talked to her about this exact scenario last year. When it comes to running for Senate in 2026 or even governor in 2028, she said she would never say never.
One thing to keep in mind now is that she lives in Florida. However, she would only have to be a resident of North Carolina by the General Election Day in 2026. There is also some precedent. Hillary Clinton moved to New York just before she ran and won the Senate seat there.
The next person to watch is Michael Whatley. He is the RNC chairman and former NCGOP chairman. He is from Gaston County and has deep ties and a strong rolodex thanks to his long tenure in the Republican Party.
Finally, don't rule out 10th Congressional District Rep. Pat Harrigan. His district includes Lincoln, Catawba and Iredell counties. He is seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. He's young, has a military background and won a very tough primary last year. A person close to Harrigan confirmed to Bruno the congressman is looking at entering the race.
On the Democrat side, all eyes are on Roy Cooper. The former governor will reportedly decide this summer on whether he will run. Former Democrat Congressman Wiley Nickel, of Cary, has already declared for the seat.
Democrats haven't won a senate seat in almost 20 years.
The last democratic senator was Kay Hagan, who Tillis defeated in 2014.
VIDEO: Sen. Thom Tillis announces he is not running for reelection
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier slept in House chamber after refusing GOP-mandated permission slip to leave
Claim: In August 2025, Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, slept overnight in the state House chamber because Republicans mandated that no Democratic lawmakers could not leave without a "permission slip" and a police escort, conditions she refused to accept. Rating: Context: Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Texas Republicans announced they would redraw the state's U.S. congressional district maps mid-decade. The new maps projected that Republicans would gain five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democratic lawmakers protested the redistricting by leaving the state and preventing the quorum needed for a legislative vote on the redistricting. When the Democrats returned, Republicans mandated they not be allowed to leave the House chamber without a "permission slip" and a police escort, ostensibly to prevent them from leaving the state again. On Aug. 18, 2025, posts appeared on social media platforms, including Facebook, Reddit and X, claiming that Texas Republicans in the state House of Representatives had locked state Rep. Nicole Collier, a Democrat from Fort Worth, in the House chamber overnight, refusing to allow her to leave until she signed a "permission slip" and agreed to a police escort. Snopes readers wrote in and searched the site for more information about the incident. The claim is true. It was reported in several reliable publications, including The Texas Tribune, CBS News and NBC News. Collier posted to her X account on Aug. 19 showing her sleeping in the House. Collier's decision to remain in the House chamber rather than accept the Republicans' conditions was the latest development in a long chain of events that began in June 2025 when The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump was pushing the state of Texas to redraw its federal congressional districts mid-decade in order to preserve the thin Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. District maps are generally drawn every decade following the census. Redrawing them mid-decade without being ordered to do so by a court is rare, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Texas is one of 26 states where the state legislators have the power to draw the maps. State Republicans, who control a majority in both legislative houses, agreed to redistrict, and submitted a congressional map that would likely turn five Democratic seats into Republican seats. State Democrats (and many Texans) protested the move. However, the Democratic Party hasn't held a majority in Texas since 2002, giving them very little power in the legislature to stop the redistricting proposal. According to The Texas Tribune, however, there is one option that both political parties in the state have used to delay legislation since as early as 1870 — denying a quorum. In order for a legislature to vote on a measure, a certain number of representatives must be present. This number is called a quorum. Without the politicians, no votes. So, state Democrats left Texas to block the redistricting bill's passage. Republican officials retaliated by issuing civil arrest warrants for the missing Democrats, although the move was largely symbolic because the warrants applied only within state lines. They also "moved to extradite absent members from Illinois, launched investigations and sought to declare at least one Democrat's seat vacant," according to The Texas Tribune. The missing Democrats returned to Texas following California Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement of a ballot initiative that would let that state redraw its own congressional districts to counteract the Texas redistricting. State House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Democrats would be given a permission slip that allowed them to leave the House on the condition that they were given an "around-the-clock escort" by Texas state troopers to ensure they did not attempt to break the legislative quorum again. Collier refused the police escort, meaning she would not be allowed to leave the state House until the next day when the body reconvened. "I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts," Collier said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won't just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination." Astudillo, By Carla. "Texas Republicans' Redistricting Map: How the GOP Could Increase Its Stronghold." The Texas Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025, Betts, By Hayden. "Denying Quorum Has Been a Texas Political Strategy since 1870." The Texas Tribune, 3 Aug. 2025, Davisson, Matthew, and Jack Fink. Texas Democrat Says She's Locked inside State Capitol after Refusing Mandatory DPS Escort - CBS Texas. 19 Aug. 2025, Eckman, Sarah J., and Whitaker L. Paige. Mid-Decade Congressional Redistricting: Key Issues. In Focus, IF13082, Congressional Research Service, "Fort Worth Rep. Nicole Collier Refuses to Leave Texas House, Protesting State Trooper Escorts." KERA News, 19 Aug. 2025, Goodman, J. David, and Shane Goldmacher. "White House Pushes Texas to Redistrict, Hoping to Blunt Democratic Gains." The New York Times, 9 Jun. 2025, Governor Abbott Orders Texas Department Of Public Safety To Arrest Delinquent House Democrats. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025. Guo, By Kayla. "Rep. Nicole Collier Spends Night on Texas House Floor after Refusing Police Escort." The Texas Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025, ---. "Texas House Democrats Return to Capitol, Ending Walkout over Redistricting Plan." The Texas Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025, Izzo, Jack. "This Democratic US House District in Texas Is Real, but It Was Drawn by Republicans." Snopes, 8 Aug. 2025, Klibanoff, By Eleanor. "Texas House Issues Arrest Warrants for Democrats Who Left State to Block Congressional Redistricting." The Texas Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025, Koseff, Alexei. "5 Things to Know about Gavin Newsom's Plan to Redraw California's Election Maps." CalMatters, 18 Aug. 2025. Lewis, Daniel. 'We've Had Enough': Texas Democrat Who Slept on State House Floor Speaks out | CNN Politics. 2025. "National Overview." All About Redistricting, Accessed 19 Aug. 2025. "Party Control of Texas State Government." Ballotpedia, Accessed 19 Aug. 2025. "Texas Democratic Legislator Is Sleeping in the State Capitol after Refusing Security Escort to Leave." NBC News, 19 Aug. 2025, Tracy, Matt. "Over 300 Protests Held Saturday against Trump Redistricting Push." Reuters, 17 Aug. 2025.
New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump's White House Joins TikTok
President Trump has started an official White House account on TikTok, deepening his ties with the Chinese-owned social media company as he repeatedly declines to enforce a federal law that would ban the company's app because of national security concerns. The first post by @WhiteHouse on TikTok — showing Mr. Trump at various events while dramatic music plays — referenced a viral video on the social media site that featured footage from the movie 'Creed' and music by the rapper Kendrick Lamar. The White House's embrace of TikTok continues a remarkable turnabout for Mr. Trump, who tried to ban the platform in his first term. Mr. Trump created a personal account in June 2024, and his popularity on the app soared amid his effort to court TikTok's predominantly younger voters. Donors to Mr. Trump and the company's executives have also undertaken a lobbying effort to prevent TikTok from going dark in the United States. Mr. Trump's return to TikTok — the last post on his personal account was on Election Day — is the latest sign that he has little intention of enforcing the national security ban on the app. The ban stemmed from a 2024 law that requires app stores and cloud computing providers to stop distributing or hosting TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. A bipartisan coalition in Congress passed the law over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to gather information about Americans or spread propaganda. After drawing a devoted following on TikTok that supported his successful re-election bid, the president-elect threw the app an unexpected lifeline in its quest to continue operating in the United States. Hours after the federal law banning the app took effect in the final days of the Biden administration, Mr. Trump said that he would issue an executive order to delay the enforcement of the ban. The law has a section allowing Mr. Trump to grant a 90-day extension if a buyer is found, but only if there is 'significant progress' toward a deal that puts TikTok in the hands of a non-Chinese company. Mr. Trump made several additional extensions anyway. TikTok has until mid-September to find a new owner, but Mr. Trump could grant another extension.
Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
DHS Secretary says entire southern border wall to be painted black to stop people from climbing it
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration — and she credited President Trump with the idea. Noem spoke during a visit to a portion of the wall in New Mexico, where she also picked up a roller brush to help out with the painting. She touted the height of the wall as well as the depth as ways to deter people seeking to go over or under the walls. And then Noem said Homeland Security was going to be trying black paint to make the metal hotter. 'That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here when something is painted black it gets even warmer and it will make it even harder for people to climb. So we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally,' Noem said. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, who attended the event with Noem, said the paint would also help deter rust. During Trump's first term, building the wall was a central focus of his hardline immigration policy. During his second term, his mass deportation agenda with arrests in the interior of the country has been the main focus, but Homeland Security will be getting about $46 billion to complete the wall as part of new funding passed by Congress this summer. Noem said they have been building about a half mile of barrier every day. 'The border wall will look very different based on the topography and the geography of where it is built,' she said. She said that in addition to barriers like the one she visited Tuesday, the department is also working on 'water-borne infrastructure.' Long sections of the roughly 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico sit along the Rio Grande River in Texas. The Trump administration is pushing forward with completing the wall at the same time that the number of people crossing the border illegally has plummeted. ___
