July 20, 2020/Media

Thom Tillis’ Recess: “Racist” Comments, “Hugely Disappointing” Fundraising, Another Failed Campaign Message

Senator Tillis is back in Washington this week after his two week summer break that was anything but fun in the sun. Tillis was repeatedly put back in the harsh national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, as his stumbles during summer recess revealed his campaign is floundering without needed financial support or a message.

“Four months from the election and Senator Tillis is still floundering, trying out tone deaf messages, getting significantly outraised, and attacking North Carolinians and their health care,” NCDP spokesperson Robert Howard said. “Senator Tillis’ summer break left a sunburn because he’s a weak, Washington politician growing more desperate by the day.”

Here’s a quick recap of Senator TIllis’ brutal summer break:

“Slammed” and “Blasted” for “Racist” Comments Attacking Latinx Community. Senator Tillis made national news for singling out the Latinx community for not social distancing or wearing a mask without offering any evidence or explaining that Latinx members are often essential workers. That earned him rounds of negative coverage nationally and in-state:

“Flat Fundraising” that Even Republicans Admit was “Hugely Disappointing.” Tillis “raised the least of any GOP incumbent” in a Toss-Up race, “flat fundraising” that was only “a slight uptick from his first quarter” and signals a “perilous” reelection bid. Even other Republicans saw his weak quarter as “hugely disappointing,” the second quarter in a row that Republicans have been “especially irritated” at Tillis.

“Not a Winning Message”: Tillis’ New Campaign Message Falls Flat. Tillis tried on a new campaign message this recess, claiming, “I know we’re going to win because people remember how good their lives were in February.” it didn’t go well. One analyst described it as “the most severe form of political wishful thinking I’ve ever seen,” while others panned it as “not a winning message” and “quite a remarkable theory.”

Still “Struggling To Win Over Base” Republicans. Four months from the election and the fundamentals of the race haven’t changed: Senator Tillis is still “struggling” to win over base voters while at the same time alienating independent voters, “walking on thinning tightrope trying to survive.” In the clearest example, one conservative former Tillis voter and donor is now voting for Cal Cunningham because Tillis is “in the tank for Trump” and he wants to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Four Pinocchios: Tillis’ Record Further Exposed as Health Care Takes “Center Stage.” Tillis faced even more scrutiny on voters’ #1 issue, as reports showed health care is taking “center stage” in this fall’s election. A fact check exposed how despite Senator Tillis’ and Republicans’ rhetoric on protecting pre-existing conditions, their “records show the opposite.” Experts also panned his sham bill, saying it “does not offer the same level of protection for preexisting conditions as the ACA” and warning that “millions of Americans could lose their health coverage if the ACA falls and the Protect Act is the only replacement.” Then, a CNN report showed how Tillis’ role in helping “lead the fight against Medicaid expansion as the GOP speaker in the state House of Representatives” is “surfacing” again as a huge vulnerability this fall, especially as studies show the pandemic has caused the “greatest health insurance losses in American history,” and that nearly half of these losses came from five states, including North Carolina.

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