Sen. Thom Tillis says he won't seek reelection after opposing Trump's tax bill

North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis — a Republican who has come under fire from his own party for working on bipartisan legislation and questioning Republican President Donald Trump’s decisions — said Sunday that he won't seek reelection.

The surprise announcement came a day after he opposed Trump's new tax-and-spending bill, which advanced in the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate Saturday night. 

The decision raises the stakes for what was already expected to be one of the nation’s most closely watched — and what could be one of the most closely contested — U.S. Senate races in 2026. The seat could help determine who controls the closely divided chamber.

"In Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,’ Tillis, 64, said in a lengthy statement. 

Tillis — who has served in the Senate since 2015 after terms as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives — has fallen out of favor with GOP leadership in recent years. The state party in 2023 voted to censure him for going against the party's views on key issues such as supporting federal legislation codifying gay marriage.

Earlier this year, Tillis questioned Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth to be the secretary of defense before ultimately voting for the confirmation — an equivocation that caused Trump to consider endorsing other candidates for Tillis’ seat. 

On Saturday, Tillis opposed legislation pushed by Trump, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which would cut taxes on wages and tips while increasing spending on many of the president’s priorities, including immigration enforcement. The bill would also cut spending on high-profile federal programs, including Medicaid and food stamps. Tillis said the changes to Medicaid would be devastating to North Carolina. 

Tillis again criticized the bill Sunday night as senators debated the bill before voting on the legislation.

"What do I tell 663,000 in two, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore, guys?" Tillis said on the Senate floor. "The people in the White House advising the president, they're not telling him that the effect of this bill is to break a promise."

During his time on the floor Sunday night, Tillis said that he would be withholding his vote on the bill.

"I owe it to the people of North Carolina to withhold my affirmative vote until it's demonstrated to me that we've done our homework, we're going to make sure we fulfill the promise. Then I can feel good about a bill that I'm willing to vote for," Tillis said.

Tillis had been privately critical of the legislation and cautioned colleagues of the political downsides of the legislation. He was one of two Republicans who voted Saturday night against bringing up the bill.

North Carolina's other U.S. senator, Republican Ted Budd, struck a different tone regarding the bill. In a social media post Saturday, Budd said Trump’s bill includes “major reforms to slow the ballooning cost of government programs and root out waste, fraud, and abuse.”

“There’s more work to be done, but I strongly agree with President Trump that we must unleash America's full economic potential,” Budd said. “This legislation promises needed tax relief to hard-working families, helps North Carolina farmers sell their crops, and invests in our military and border security. Non-partisan groups have warned it could significantly increase the federal deficit in the coming years." 

The bill cleared a key test vote in the Senate as Congress races to get the measure to the president's desk ahead of his July 4 deadline.

Trump said he might support another Republican on Saturday after Tillis announced he wouldn’t support Trump’s top legislative priority.

On Sunday, the president criticized Tillis again on social media, referring to Hurricane Helene in a post saying: "Thom Tillis has hurt the great people of North Carolina. Even on the catastrophic flooding, nothing was done to help until I took office. Then a MIRACLE took place! Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER!"

The decision to drop out of the race could make Tillis a legislative wild card in a party where few lawmakers are willing to risk Trump’s wrath by opposing his agenda or actions. Tillis said he was proud of his career in public service but acknowledged the difficult political environment for those who buck their party and go it alone.

“I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability,” Tillis said in his statement.

Vulnerable seat

Republicans hold 53 seats in the U.S. Senate, meaning Democrats need to flip at least four seats to gain control of the chamber for the final two years of Trump’s term.

Tillis had already been considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans facing reelection — even though the state voted for Trump three times and last elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 2008, a Democrat wave year. 

Any path to Democratic control would likely include flipping the North Carolina seat, making it one of the most closely watched races in the nation. The race is considered a “lean Republican,” according to the Cook Political Report. 

North Carolina’s electorate is closely divided between unaffiliated, Democratic and Republican voters. Because of that, Tillis has had to walk a tightrope: Support Trump’s agenda enough to please a GOP base that has been hostile toward him, while maintaining enough independence to woo moderate voters in 2026.

"As we move forward into the midterm elections, we will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026 and continue to deliver on President Trump's America First priorities," North Carolina Republican Party chairman Jason Simmons said in a statement Sunday. 

Tillis had raised at least $5.5 million for his reelection bid and had at least $4 million cash on hand, but he said Sunday that he hadn’t been excited about running again and criticized officials who focus too much on politics and not enough on policy. 

“Too many elected officials are motivated by pure raw politics who really don't give a damn about the people they promised to represent on the campaign trail,” Tillis said in a statement. “After they get elected, they don't bother to do the hard work to research the policies they seek to implement and understand the consequences those policies could have on that young adult living in a trailer park, struggling to make ends meet.”

Tillis served in the North Carolina State House from 2007 to 2015. He was the speaker from 2011 to 2015. He won his U.S. Senate seat in 2014 by narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan. Tillis won with 48.8% of the vote. He defeated Cal Cunningham in 2020 to hold the seat in a race in which Tillis trailed in polling for much of the year. But Tillis surged late, especially after the married Cunningham admitted to having an affair. 

In recent years, he became known as a willing dealmaker across the aisle, especially with former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Tillis on Sunday blamed the lack of any middle ground in Congress on both parties, pointing to the recent departures of Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, both conservative-leaning Democrats before Sinema switched her affiliation to Independent, without naming them. 

“They got things done,” Tillis said in his lengthy statement. “But they were shunned after they courageously refused to cave to their party bosses to nuke the filibuster for the sake of political expediency. They ultimately retired and their presence in the Senate chamber has been sorely missed every day since. 

“It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics,” he added. “When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.” 

NC GOP votes to censure Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, citing his record on gay marriage, immigration

“It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics,” Tillis said in his statement. “When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.”

Competitive seat

Tillis was already facing primary challengers, including businessman Andy Nilsson, who previously ran for lieutenant governor, and Don Brown, a former congressional candidate. The seat could attract more prominent Republicans into the 2026 race, including U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, a former state party chairman. 

Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has not lost an election since entering politics in 1987, was reported to have been considering challenging Tillis for the seat. Democrat Wiley Nickel, a former congressman from Wake County, is in the race and has raised more than $2.4 million.

“No matter which MAGA loyalist Donald Trump hand-picks to run in North Carolina, I’m the Democrat who’s ready to take them on and win. I’ve flipped a tough seat before and we’re going to do it again. North Carolinians are independent-minded and won’t be fooled by extremists pushing an agenda that puts billionaires first and working families last," Nickel said in a statement after Tillis’ announcement. 

Trump's nominations put NC's Tillis under the microscope. Why he's the nation's 'most vulnerable' GOP senator

Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called Tillis’ decision “another blow to Republicans’ chances as they face a midterm backlash that puts their majority at risk."

Trump’s allies celebrated Tillis’ announcement as more proof of Trump’s political strength. “Don’t Cross Trump,” Jason Miller, who served as a top adviser for the president’s reelection campaign, wrote on social media. “The voters gave him a mandate to implement a specific agenda, and they want everyone to get behind his efforts!”

——

WRAL state government reporter Brian Murphy contributed to this report. WRAL wire services including the Associated Press and The New York Times also contributed to this report.