Thom Tillis

He had been on the record for authorisation long before he voted to withdraw. On 25 April 2026 he and Susan Collins backed Lisa Murkowski's draft Iran war authorisation, a bill that was never filed; the 60-day war powers clock expired on 1 May with no text on either chamber's docket.

Five months later he went further. On 24 September he voted for House Concurrent Resolution 89, citing the war's economic cost and opposition from his voters, and the resolution failed 49 to 50. A concurrent resolution never reaches the President, so the vote measured opinion rather than binding the use of force. Tillis does not face re-election, which is the plainest reason party leadership could not hold him.

Tillis announced on 29 June 2025 that he would not seek a third term, and the consequence showed up in the ratings nine months later. On 13 April 2026 The Cook Political Report moved North Carolina from toss-up to lean Democrat, one of four Senate ratings it shifted that day, putting three of the four seats the Democrats need at or inside the toss-up band.

The seat is now an open contest between Michael Whatley for the Republicans and Roy Cooper, North Carolina's former governor, for the Democrats, with the general election on 3 November 2026. Tillis is not on that ballot and his term runs to January 2027. The incumbency advantage that held the seat Republican left with him.