All eyes will be on North Carolina next year.
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) announced he is jumping into the race to unseat incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R).
Nickel, previously represented North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District in the House for one term and is the first Democrat to get in the race. Tillis’s seat will be a top target for Democrats to flip in 2026.
Nickel made the announcement in a post on the social platform X, saying President Trump is “shredding our Constitution and tanking our economy.”
“Thom Tillis lacks the courage to stand up to him — I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit on the sidelines,” Nickel said. “I’m running to fight for a better future for North Carolinians.”
“Extreme Republicans knew they couldn’t beat him at the ballot box, so they redrew the maps so that he couldn’t run again,” Nickel’s campaign website reads. “But Wiley has never been one to back down from a fight. He’s running for Senate to continue the work he started in Congress: protecting social security and Medicaid, fighting inflation, and working with members of both parties to lower the cost of living for North Carolina families.”
Nickel will likely face competition for the Democrat nomination, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is widely rumored to run for the seat and has expressed interest in doing.
North Carolina is expected to be one of Democrats’ main targets for flipping next year as Republicans seek to maintain their slim majority in the House and Senate.
The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the North Carolina race as “lean Republican.”
Will Republicans maintain their foothold in the Tarheel State? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
