Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has been endorsed by President Trump, but it has done little to quell an insurgent primary challenge threatening Tillis’ incumbency. The mounting primary bid by Raleigh businessman Garland Tucker has tapped into the concerns of a GOP base disaffected by Tillis. At the core of their disaffection is the belief that he doesn’t support Trump enough. Tillis experienced their discontent personally when he was booed after taking the stage at a Trump rally in Fayetteville.
Their hostility toward Tillis stems from his early opposition to Trump’s emergency declaration which stripped funds from the military to pay for the construction of a wall on the southern border. It is a position he quickly reversed. Since then, Tillis has voted to support the emergency measure twice, even after $80 million was taken from military bases in his state. Still, the stink of once opposing Trump lingers with the GOP base.
As a result, the primary has basically boiled down to a battle of loyalty to Trump. Both candidates are laying claim to Trump’s mantle and both candidates are accusing one another of not supporting the President enough. Tillis has taken the primary threat seriously, unveiling a $2.2 million television and radio ad buy on Monday touting his work with Trump. Part of the campaign is this doozy of a website that accuses Tucker of being a “never-Trumper” and of having “deep ties into Hillary Clinton’s networks”.
The website, paid for by the Tillis campaign, is almost comical in its presentation. It plays more like a fringe conspiracy website than that of a legitimate political campaign. But it also demonstrates just how worried Tillis is. His fierce loyalty to Trump, however, seems to be a short-sighted political calculation considering his looming bid for reelection in an increasingly purple state.
Take for example the impeachment proceedings against Trump. Instead of holding Trump to account, Tillis came out in support of his brazen abuse of power. He actually defended foreign interference in our elections. And then he criticized Democrats for maintaining their oath to uphold the Constitution. As more and more Americans support impeachment proceedings, this type of posturing could spell danger for a Republican candidate in the general election.
If you're fed up with Tillis, donate to his future Democratic challenger. This fund ensures every dollar you contribute will be made available to the Democratic nominee once they win their primary, so he or she can be equipped to take on Tillis during the general election.
The pattern of blind loyalty exhibited by Tillis shows who he is really fighting for, and it’s definitely not us. Plus, this is a race that may very well determine control of the Senate.