U.S. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina will not be seeking reelection when his current term ends, Scripps News has learned.
In a statement from Tillis, who has served in the Senate since 2015, he said "it has been a blessing" to represent his state but that it wasn't a hard choice to not seek reelection because of the "political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington."
“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 said. "... It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics. 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."
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The announcement comes just one day after Tillis strayed from Republicans and voted against President Donald Trump's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," which includes reductions in spending on things like Medicaid, food stamps, and other public assistance programs to help extend trillions of dollars in Trump tax breaks.
“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. 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," said Tillis, who did grow up in a trailer as a child and young adult.
"As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven't exactly been excited about running for another term," he added. "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."
Tillis' seat in battleground North Carolina was already a target on the radar for Democrats in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. And with Republicans holding a razor thin majority in the Senate, it will likely be a highly-contested contest to replace him.
