GOP Sen. Thom Tillis won't seek re-election in North Carolina after drawing Trump's ire

Washington, D.C.—Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced Sunday that he would not run for re-election, one day after he drew President Donald Trump’s ire for opposing the party’s sweeping domestic policy package. The decision opens up a seat in North Carolina, a battleground state that was already anticipated to be one of the most competitive races in the 2026 midterm elections. Tillis made a lengthy statement about his decision, stating that he has been uninterested in running for a third six-year Senate term. Tillis stated, "I haven't exactly been excited about running for another term, as many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about." “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.” Trump attacked Tillis in a series of social media posts after he voted against advancing the GOP's massive domestic policy bill on Saturday and threatened to meet with potential primary challengers. “Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!” Saturday night, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Tillis compared himself to former Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — both of whom became independents by the end of their tenures — without explicitly naming them, saying that independent voices attract scorn in politics. "Democrats recently lost two of these leaders, who were committed to making the Senate a more useful and productive body of law." They got things done. But they were shunned because they bravely refused to yield to their party leaders' requests to end the filibuster for political gain. Tillis stated, "They