Will Lara Trump take on Tillis? | Eastern NC Now

A lot of ifs.  

NEW: Poll shows Lara Trump CRUSHING Sen. Thom Tillis 65-11 in a hypothetical 2026 GOP primary, don’t be shocked if “Senator Trump” is trending in North Carolina very soon.

A Victory Insights survey of 800 likely GOP primary voters put Lara Trump miles ahead of incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis—65 percent to 11 percent, with a quarter still shopping around.

Her December 2024 decision to step down as RNC co-chair “to explore her next chapter” only fanned speculation that the next chapter is a Senate run back home. With near-universal name ID and the Trump family’s fundraising machine ready-made, she would begin the race as the prohibitive favorite.

Tillis, by contrast, is limping into 2026. State party activists formally censured him in June 2023 for votes on gun safety and same-sex-marriage protections, cementing a narrative that he’s “not MAGA enough.”

The Assembly notes that Trump-aligned operatives are openly hunting for a primary challenger, and every high-profile dust-up—most recently Tillis’ very public break with the White House over a controversial D.C. prosecutor nominee—reminds grassroots conservatives why they’re restless. In short, the senator enters the cycle with a base problem money alone can’t fix.

Put the two story lines together and you can see why North Carolina Republicans are bracing for a dynasty shake-up.

If Lara Trump jumps in, she would fuse the Trump brand’s emotional pull with deep pockets and instant media oxygen—advantages few incumbents anywhere could withstand.

The question isn’t whether she starts as the front-runner; it’s whether any other Republican, including Thom Tillis, can keep this race from turning into a coronation and sending a second Trump to Capitol Hill.

Will Lara Trump take on Tillis?

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