Raleigh – On the heels of an “underwhelming” fundraising quarter and stuck in a “nasty” back-and-forth with conservative businessman Garland Tucker, a new analysis has found that Senator Tillis is being bankrolled by big money special interests, has virtually no small dollar support, and rakes in more money from the pharmaceutical industry than almost any incumbent senator.

According to the new analysis from the News & Observer and the Center for Responsive Politics:

• “Sen. Thom Tillis is relying on big-money donors and industry political action committees to raise money for his 2020 re-election bid…”

• “Tillis has raised just 4% of his money from small-dollar donors, defined as those who give $200 or less.”

• “…Tillis ranks second in the Senate for the 2020 cycle in PAC money received…”

• “Tillis has received the second-most amount of money among senators from the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, trailing only Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.”

• “…lobbyists have donated more than $400,000 to Tillis’ campaign.”

Several of the wealthy special interests backing Tillis are currently lobbying “against legislation to cap the amount of money patients can be charged for out-of-network care — often known as surprise medical bills.” Similar wealthy special interests gave Tillis a “showering of love” after he “pressured” another Republican Senator to “significantly rework” their own legislation at Big Pharma’s behest.

Tillis is so intertwined with Big Pharma that he was “one of few individual lawmakers — in many cases, the only one — to whom [several pharmaceutical industry] executives had written personal checks during the current election cycle.”

“Senator Tillis has virtually no grassroots support and instead is relying on lobbyists, wealthy special interests, and the pharmaceutical industry to prop up his struggling reelection campaign that’s taking on water from all sides,” NCDP spokesman Robert Howard said. “He’s even relying on the very same groups pushing to let North Carolina consumers keep being gouged with surprise medical bills to finance his listless campaign. If you judge a person by their friends, it’s clear Senator Tillis is just another Washington politician looking out for his big money special interest backers rather than individual North Carolina families.”

News & Observer: Tillis, Cunningham raising most money in Senate race. Where are they getting it from?
By Brian Murphy and Karl Evers-Hillstrom
October 25, 2019

Key Points:

• Sen. Thom Tillis is relying on big-money donors and industry political action committees to raise money for his 2020 re-election bid, according to an analysis of fundraising efforts in the North Carolina Senate race by McClatchy and the Center for Responsive Politics.

• Tillis has raised just 4% of his money from small-dollar donors, defined as those who give $200 or less.

• PACs typically give to congressional incumbents, but Tillis ranks second in the Senate for the 2020 cycle in PAC money received and other Republicans facing 2020 races have been able to tap into the small-donor network.

• Tillis faces primary challenges from retired Raleigh businessman Garland Tucker and Ayden farmer Sandy Smith.

• The general election is expected to be close, with several national analysts moving the race to “lean Republican” or “toss up.”

• Tillis has received more than $2.9 million from PACs, second only to Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican who is also facing a tough 2020 re-election campaign. More than $2.4 million of that money has come from business-organized PACs, such as $10,000 from the US Anesthesia Partners PAC and $5,600 from the PAC for Charlotte-based US Radiology Specialists.

• Both organizations were part of the lobbying coalition Physicians for Fair Coverage, which spent $4.1 million in the third quarter to lobby against legislation to cap the amount of money patients can be charged for out-of-network care — often known as surprise medical bills.

• Tillis has received the second-most amount of money among senators from the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, trailing only Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. Tillis, between his campaign and his leadership PAC, took in more than $408,000 from the pharmaceutical industry, 78% of that from industry PACs.

• …lobbyists have donated more than $400,000 to Tillis’ campaign.