Donald Trump has been pummeling Thom Tillis for weeks now about his opposition to the big MAGAbill. He has threatened Tillis with a primary over and over. Tillis decided it wasn't worth it anymore and yesterday announced that he will not run for reelection in 2026. Trump is probably happy that he cowed Tillis into submission. Makes him feel good.
There are only a couple of minor problems for Trump, though. First, since Tillis can't be primaried, he is free to vote based on what his constituents want. There is not much Trump can do to punish him. Second, holding the Senate seat next year has gotten an order of magnitude tougher. So far, former governor Roy Cooper (D) has been coy about jumping in. After all, beating a sitting senator is never easy. But now... well, winning an open seat in a swing state is much more doable. Cooper is a veteran politician. He understands that. He also understands that the amount of money that will pour into a potential campaign from out of state will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Finance will not be a problem.
Of course, the Republican side is completely open now. It will take a while to see who jumps in. No one was expecting this. The field could be very large and the Trumpiest candidate could win the GOP primary, possibly leading to a "candidate quality" problem for the Republicans. Obviously, we will be paying lots of attention to this race now. Also to the one in Maine. (V)