Republican Sen. Thom Tillis trails a Democrat opponent in a survey of the 2026 U.S. Senate race in battleground North Carolina.
According to a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, which works with the Democratic Party, former Gov. Roy Cooper leads Tillis 47% to 43% in a hypothetical matchup.
Tillis, who last year launched his reelection campaign, won his previous two Senate races by less than 2 percentage points.
When asked about Tillis' job performance, 46% said they disapprove, 29% said they were not sure, and 25% said they approved, according to the PPP survey.
The poll results prompted one conservative political consultant to call for North Carolina Republicans to find someone other than Tillis to run in 2026.
"I have nothing against Tillis; I barely know him," Arthur Schwartz posted on X. "He's a mediocre candidate with no connection to the Republican base in a critical swing state. If Rs are serious about defending our senate majority we need to start looking for a replacement for Tillis — and we need to start NOW."
The GOP currently holds a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, with the party favored to retain control, according to The Cook Political Report. Cook shows North Carolina as leaning Republican.
Tillis fired back at Schwartz, whom he called "a political hack that should probably just keep on being a smart guy and a billionaire, because he's a s*** political consultant."
"The president needs a majority to continue his agenda," Tillis said Thursday, NBC News reported. "Behavior by people like this guy, it's the thing that's the single greatest threat to us to deliver the majority next year."
Schwartz, who helped shepherd Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary through the Senate, then responded to Tillis' comments.
"Every Republican senator I know wants Tillis to drop out so we can run a serious candidate who will beat away misfits like [former Senate candidate] Mark Robinson that will get crushed in a general. Maybe Thom should be planning his post senate future instead of reading his mentions on X," Schwartz wrote.
After indicating he might vote against confirming Hegseth, Tillis voted for the nominee. Vice President J.D. Vance then broke a tie to confirm Hegseth.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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