Election results strengthen the hand of Team Tillis | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: Brant Clifton has long discussed the political machine of Republican Speaker of the House, Thom Tillis, in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    I chatted recently with a long-time NCGOP insider — and a friend of this site — about some of the conversations going on right now in the smoke-filled backrooms of Raleigh.

   My source tells me that Tuesday’s results strengthen the hand of incumbent state House speaker Thom Tillis:

    “They added seats and expanded their majority. There are so many new faces coming into the House, as a result of the election. I don’t know how you make the case for changing things at the top. A plan is already in the works to keep Thom on as speaker, slide Stam into the pro tem slot Folwell had, and to promote Thom’s allies Lewis and Samuelson. Splitting the majority leader post looks like it might generate some interesting debate. That, and who gets to be majority whip, looks like the only real excitement, the only unanswered questions, left. ”

   My source tells me things look pretty copacetic over in the Senate:

   “They’ve worked well together over there. For the most part, it sounds like everyone is happy with the current leadership. They are a lot more conservative than the House caucus, and will likely be a firewall against any hare-brained schemes — like reparations — that come out of the House.”
Thom Tillis speaks to the North Carolina delegation of county commissioners: Above.     photo by Stan Deathereage