GOP senator up for reelection warns budget bill will cost Republicans their majorities
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) on January 30, 2025 (Maxim Elramsisy/Shutterstock.com)
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), seeking reelection in the 2026 midterms, is facing two hurdles: an aggressive GOP primary challenge from MAGA businessman Andy Nilsson, and — if he defeats Nilsson and becomes the nominee — a Democratic opponent in the general election.
Now, according to Politico's Jordain Carney, Tillis is worried that President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" could be a major liability for Republicans in the midterms.
Carney, in a Wednesday, June 25, post on X, formerly Twitter, reported, "News: Sen. Tillis told his colleagues in GOP lunch today that he won't vote to proceed without more clarity on Medicaid language, per source familiar. He also warned GOP current language means they won't have two senators from NC sitting in the lunch post-2026."
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Tillis, who is conservative but not far-right or ultra-MAGA, comes from a competitive swing state that can go either GOP or Democratic in statewide races.
In 2024, now-President Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by roughly 3.5 percent in North Carolina. But Democrat Josh Stein was elected governor and followed two-term former Gov. Roy Cooper, another Democrat. And Democratic Justice Allison Riggs was narrowly reelected to her seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court last year.
The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, after narrowly passing in the U.S. House of Representatives, 215-214, is now being considered in the U.S. Senate — where Republicans are hotly debating steep cuts to Medicaid. According to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Medicaid cuts being proposed in the bill could reduce Medicaid enrollment by 10.3 million people by 2034.
X user Ken Blair, in response to Carney's reporting, said of Tillis, "If he votes for it he shouldn't be re-elected."
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