:quality(70):focal(2151x688:2161x698)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/YBLV7Q7ZTBDQ7JHF4NW2ZV52JE.jpg)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Sunday he will not seek reelection next year, a day after announcing his opposition to President Donald Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts package because of its reductions to health care programs.
His decision will create a political opportunity for Democrats seeking to bolster their numbers in the 2026 midterm elections, opening a seat in a state that has long been a contested battleground. Forgoing a reelection campaign could make Tillis a wild card in a party where few lawmakers are willing to risk Trump’s wrath by opposing his agenda or actions in office.
Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate.
Tillis, who would have been up for a third term, 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.
“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,” he said in a lengthy statement.
“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.”
Trump, in social posts, had berated Tillis for being one of two Republican senators who voted on Saturday night against advancing the massive bill.
The Republican president accused Tillis of seeking publicity with his “no” vote and threatened to campaign against him. Trump also accused Tillis off doing nothing to help his constituents after last year’s devastating floods.
“Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,” Trump wrote.
The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Jason Simmons, said the party wishes Tillis well and “will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026.”
Democrats expressed confidence about their prospects.
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, who announced his candidacy in April, said he was ready for any Republican challenger.
“I’ve flipped a tough seat before and we’re going to do it again,” Nickel said in a statement.
Tillis’ decision was seen by some as a sign of how the GOP under Trump had closed ranks against a member who defied its leader.
It “proves there is no space within the Republican Party to dissent over taking health care away from 11.8 million people,” said Lauren French, spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, a political committee aligned with the chamber’s Democratic members.
Tillis rose to prominence in North Carolina when, as a second-term state House member, he quit his IBM consultant job and led the GOP’s recruitment and fundraising efforts in the chamber for the 2010 elections. Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years.
Tillis was later elected as state House speaker and helped enact conservative policies on taxes, gun rights, regulations and abortion while serving in the role for four years. He also helped push a state constitutional referendum to ban gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2012 but was ultimately struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
In 2014, Tillis helped flip control of the U.S. Senate to the GOP after narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. During his more than a decade in office, he championed issues such as mental health and substance abuse recovery, Medicaid expansion and support for veterans.
As a more moderate Republican, Tillis became known for his willingness to work across the aisle on some issues. That got him into trouble with his party at times, most notably in 2023 when North Carolina Republicans voted to censure him over several matters, including his challenges to certain immigration policies and his gun policy record.