RALEIGH — Sen. Thom Tillis hasn’t forgiven former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker for disparaging comments made in 2019.
Following a court-ordered redistricting session in 2019 when Walker’s seat became much more Democratic, he teased a Senate run against Tillis, and the conservative Club for Growth PAC commissioned a poll to boost Walker in the race.
Walker instead opted to start planning a 2022 run.
In a CNN story that mentions top Republican candidates — former Gov. Pat McCrory, who announced his campaign two weeks ago; U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who is expected to join the race; and Walker — Tillis said, “I have no support for Mark Walker.”
“I don’t think he’s right for the job. You look at his body of work. There’s not a lot to rely on,” Tillis added.
According to the article, Walker responded that McCrory had hired Tillis’ political strategists and that he is “still aggravated” that he and Trump met to discuss a primary challenge.
“We’re no stranger to taking on the establishment, whether it’s Thom Tillis or others,” Walker said. “I’ll match my body of work with Thom Tillis’ body of work any day of the week in the six years that we served [in Congress].”
Sen. Richard Burr, the man the candidates are running to replace, joined in criticism of Walker.
Burr reportedly said of Walker’s first-quarter fundraising effort, “That’s not gonna get you a Senate race.”
Walker raised $209,000 in the first three months of 2021 and had approximately $913,000 cash on hand.
