GOP will 'hand gavel back to Schumer' after poll shows bad news for NC senator: Trump adviser

06 March

One of the U.S. Senate races that will be closely watched in the 2026 midterms in the one in North Carolina, where conservative GOP Sen. Thom Tillis is up for reelection. For Tillis, two hurdles lie ahead: a GOP primary and the general election.

Andy Nilsson, a far-right MAGA Republican, is challenging Tillis in the primary and attacking him for not being pro-Donald Trump enough. It remains to be seen who Tillis will face in the general election if he prevails in the primary, but one possibility is two-term former Gov. Roy Cooper (a centrist Democrat).

Arthur Schwartz, a GOP consultant who is well-connected in MAGA World, is sounding the alarm about Tillis' reelection prospects.

Schwartz, for years, has been a political adviser for the president's son, MAGA organizer Donald Trump Jr. And he is close to the Trump family in general as well as to Vice President JD Vance.

In a Thursday, March 6 post on X, formerly Twitter, Schwartz argued, "Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina. We're going to need a new senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to Schumer."

Schwartz is referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), who was Senate majority leader before a new GOP-controlled Senate was seated on January 3.

According to InteractivePolls, Cooper leads Tillis by 4 percent in a hypothetical general election matchup.

North Carolina, once deep red, has evolved into a swing state in recent years. Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by roughly 4 percent in North Carolina in 2024, but Democrat Josh Stein enjoyed a 14 percent victory over far-right MAGA Republican Mark Robinson in the state's gubernatorial race last year.

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