Things are getting heated in the Republican Party, and it all started with a social media post. Arthur Schwartz, a conservative political consultant with strong ties to former President Donald Trump, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday with a bold message: the GOP needs to drop Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina — or risk losing their majority in the Senate.
Schwartz’s concern came after a new poll showed Tillis trailing former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper by a wide margin in the 2026 Senate race. According to the poll, Trump would win North Carolina with about 51% of the vote if the election were held today — but Tillis is reportedly lagging 20 points behind. That gap, Schwartz argued, could cost Republicans dearly.
“Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina,” Schwartz wrote. “We’re going to need a new Senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to [Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer.”
Tillis wasn’t about to take that criticism lying down. In an interview with NBC News, he fired back, defending his record and calling out Schwartz’s behavior. “The president needs a majority to continue his agenda,” Tillis said. “Behavior by people like this guy is the single greatest threat to us delivering that majority next year.”
But Tillis didn’t stop there. He questioned Schwartz’s qualifications and temperament, suggesting the consultant was more of a distraction than a help. “Arthur Schwartz is a political hack,” Tillis said bluntly. “He should probably just keep on being a smart guy and a billionaire because he’s a s—– political consultant.”
Schwartz wasn’t about to back down either. He doubled down on his criticism of Tillis, claiming that most Republican senators want Tillis out of the race to avoid losing to a Democratic candidate. “Every Republican senator I know wants Tillis to drop out so we can run a serious candidate who will beat away misfits like Mark Robinson that will get crushed in a general,” Schwartz wrote on X. “Maybe Thom should be planning his post-Senate future instead of reading his mentions on X.”
This clash isn’t entirely surprising. Tillis has had a complicated relationship with Trump and his MAGA supporters, despite generally backing the former president’s policies. Back in 2018, Tillis supported legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election — a move Trump strongly opposed. Tillis also initially spoke out against Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a border wall, though he later reversed his position. And after the 2020 election, Tillis voted to certify the results, breaking with Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud.
More recently, Tillis wavered on whether to support Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth. After initially planning to vote against the nomination, Tillis ultimately supported it following pressure from Trump and his allies.
With tensions rising and 2026 still a long way off, one thing’s clear: the fight for North Carolina’s Senate seat is already making serious waves.
