RALEIGH — U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said on Monday he’s “very confident” that he’ll win any Republican primary he may be in — a reference to a North Carolina GOP congressman mulling an 11th-hour statewide challenge of him due to recently redrawn House maps.
Speaking to reporters after filing candidate paperwork at the State Board of Elections, Tillis said he hasn’t spoken to U.S. Rep. Mark Walker specifically about Walker’s immediate political future.
A Walker spokesman said last week that the Greensboro Republican may challenge Tillis for the party’s Senate nomination or one of two GOP House colleagues in their March 3 primaries.
Walker had announced in June that he wouldn’t challenge Tillis, but political recalculations are possible since the General Assembly redrew boundaries that would make it difficult for Walker to get re-elected in his 6th District. Tillis has received President Trump’s reelection endorsement.
“The president has endorsed my campaign because he understands that I’ve committed to the reform agenda he’s put into place,” he said in downtown Raleigh. “I’m’ very confident that if we have a primary, we will win it.”
Candidate filing ends Dec. 20. Five Democrats have already filed to run for their party’s Senate nomination.
