NC-SEN: Tillis Moves to Lean Republican
Democrats have their sights set on Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who is seeking a second term. But, before Tillis can focus on a Democratic challenger, he must fend off a primary to his right from wealthy businessman Garland Tucker and farmer Sandy Smith.
Tillis had spent the lion’s share of his career in business, holding numerous positions within PriceWaterhouseCoopers and IBM. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2006 and served as Speaker before running for the Senate in 2014. He won a three-way primary with 46 percent of the vote and went on to defeat then-Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, 49 percent to 47 percent. On that same ballot, Democrat Roy Cooper edged out incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, providing another piece of evidence that North Carolina has become a purple state. In 2016, Donald Trump beat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by four points.
The state’s changing political landscape forces Tillis to walk a fine. As a result, he doesn’t seem to please either side. Many Republicans don’t believe that he is conservative enough, while Democrats argue that he is too conservative. It doesn’t help that he has some self-inflicted wounds. In February, Tillis penned an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he said that he would vote against President Trump’s declaration of an emergency on the southern border. After an outcry from conservatives, he changed his position. The story continues to linger. Trump diverted some money from the Department of Defense to pay for the border wall, including $80 million that was supposed to go to North Carolina. Conservatives are unhappy that Tillis joined a bipartisan effort to protect special counsel Robert Mueller. And they continue to hold a grudge with Tillis over his tenure as Speaker of the state House, arguing that he was too willing to work across the aisle and cut deals. The bottom line is that voters of all ideological stripes simply don’t trust Tillis.
It’s not surprising then that Tillis pulled primary opposition. Smith, a farmer, poses less of a threat than Tucker. Tucker retired as chairman and CEO of Triangle Capital in 2016; the company was sold last year for $1 billion. A longtime conservative, Tucker has authored two books, The High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge and the 1924 Election and Conservative Heroes: Fourteen Leaders Who Changed America, from Jefferson to Reagan. Tucker seems to have ample personal resources to put in the race; as of June 30, he put $700,000 into the race, which amounted to most of the $1 million he reported. Tillis had nearly $4.4 million in the bank at the end of the second quarter.
https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/senate/north-carolina-senate/tillis-moves-lean-republican
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Right?
