Raleigh – Senator Tillis is still bearhugging Washington Republicans despite devastating losses in the suburbs this week, attending a DC fundraising retreat at the Trump International Hotel in Washington as a “special guest” alongside President Trump and Mitch McConnell, just days after their party got “blown out in the suburbs – again.”

Tillis has pretended he’s unsure if he’s going, saying, “I really don’t know” when asked. But with his “underwhelming” fundraising as he faced “battles on two fronts” – including from wealthy conservative primary challenger Garland Tucker – it’s no surprise Tillis is a special guest. He’s “not raising the money needed in an expensive state” despite “relying on big-money donors and industry political action committees” including Big Pharma.

Tillis’ appearance at the McConnell-Trump fundraising retreat comes just days after national Republicans took a beating in the suburbs, leaving them “stumbling and increasingly uncertain about their own political fates next year tied to an embattled and unpopular president.”

Trump made the Kentucky election about loyalty to himself, a particularly worrying sign for Senator Tillis who’s in a less Republican-leaning state yet relying on a tepid endorsement from Trump to carry him through a “nasty” primary and even tougher general election. Privately, North Carolina Republicans “wonder” if Trump’s endorsement “will be enough,” with all signs showing that “Trump’s support didn’t undo the damage.”