Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is backing Republican Michael Whatley in the race for the Senate seat Tillis is leaving behind, marking the first time the senator has publicly declared whom he will support.
Tillis made his position clear in an interview with NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, on Tuesday.
“Of course I don’t support Roy Cooper. I support Michael Whatley and every Republican up and down the ticket,” Tillis said.
Whatley is locked in a tight race against former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is currently favored to win the seat.
The North Carolina Republican also used the interview to deliver a message to members of his own party, urging them to focus on winning rather than on finding the perfect candidate.
“I think more people should look at how they can help Republicans get elected versus be perfectionists at the expense of getting Republicans elected,” Tillis said.
The endorsement comes after Tillis has publicly clashed with President Trump over a number of issues. Those disagreements have usually stemmed from his concerns about Whatley’s campaign.
Tillis has argued that Whatley should not campaign alongside Trump, pointing to the president’s low approval rating and the need for Republicans to win over independent voters in the battleground state.
“I don’t think it benefits him. I haven’t seen any poll where [Trump] is going to help us with unaffiliateds,” Tillis said.
While Tillis has been willing to break with the president on strategy, his latest comments leave no doubt about where he stands in the race to replace him. He is backing the Republican nominee over Cooper and is calling on others in the GOP to do the same by putting the goal of electing Republicans first.
The race between Whatley and Cooper remains close, with Cooper currently holding the advantage as the favorite heading toward Election Day.
