Leading national conservative campaign strategist targets Tillis for primary defeat | Eastern NC Now

Legendary conservative campaign strategist Richard Viguerie has a new mission for the 2026 election - to replace liberal Senator Thom Tillis in the North Carolina Republican primary.  Tillis' spiking the nomination of Ed Martin as DC US Attorney was the final straw for Viguerie, who has announced a "Tank Tillis" project for his Fed Up PAC.  He is seeking to recruit the strongest challenger possible and then provide them campaign resources to defeat Tillis in the primary and go on to win the seat in November.

Viguerie got his start in national politics as a political consultant for George Wallace in 1972 when Wallace ran as a conservative in the Democrat primaries and ran an unexpectedly strong race.   He went on to be a major player in conservative Republican campaigns including Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms.  Viguerie has been the undisputed master of direct mail campaigning, a technique he is credited with largely inventing.  

Viguerie's involvement in the challenge to Tillis is likely to draw in other major national conservative groups like the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund.

https://dailyhaymaker.com/conservative-icons-pac-thargeting-thom-thilli/

Tillis has recently come out against Trump's "no tax on tips" in the Big Beautiful Bill" but demanded that Biden's Green New Deal grift continue to be funded.  The bill as it passed the House would eliminate the Green New Deal boondoggle.  Tillis has also been denounced by House Republicans in debate on government spending..  He was also been rated by the Heritage Foundation as being more liberal than socialist Bernie Sanders.

https://dailyhaymaker.com/house-republican-calls-out-tillis-by-name-in-spending-debate/