Senator
Thom Tillis was considered vulnerable to a primary challenger from his right. On June 10, 2023, the
North Carolina Republican Party voted to censure Tillis for his support for the
Respect for Marriage Act and immigration reform attempts. On June 28, 2025, President
Donald Trump stated he was considering backing a primary challenger after Tillis voted against a motion to consider the
One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The following day, Tillis announced that he would not seek re-election.
Eliminated in primary •
Don Brown, attorney, author, and candidate for in
2024 • Richard Dansie, IT security engineer • Thomas Johnson, businessman • Michele Morrow, former nurse and nominee for
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction in
2024 • Elizabeth Temple, teacher and candidate for
North Carolina's 28th House district in 2024
Withdrawn • Andy Nilsson, retired business owner and high school football coach •
Thom Tillis, incumbent U.S. senator (2015–present)
Declined •
Pat Harrigan,
U.S. representative from
North Carolina's 10th congressional district (2025–present)
(running for re-election) •
Richard Hudson,
U.S. representative from
North Carolina's 9th congressional district (2013–present)
(running for re-election) •
Greg Murphy,
U.S. representative from
North Carolina's 3rd congressional district (2019–present)
(running for re-election) •
Mark Robinson, former
lieutenant governor of North Carolina (2021–2025) and nominee for
governor in
2024 (endorsed Brown) •
Lara Trump, former co-chair of the
Republican National Committee (2024–2025) and daughter-in-law of President
Donald Trump (endorsed Whatley) •
Mark Walker, Principal Advisor on
Global Religious Freedom to the
State Department, former
U.S. representative from (2015–2021), and candidate for U.S. Senate in
2022 Endorsements Fundraising Polling Thom Tillis vs. Mark Robinson Thom Tillis vs. "Someone Else" Thom Tillis vs. Lara Trump Results ==Democratic primary==