Thom Tillis' exit shakes up the battle for the Senate as key races take shape

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis’ surprise retirement announcement has shaken up not only North Carolina’s Senate race, but also the broader fight for the majority in the chamber heading into next year’s midterm elections

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis’ surprise retirement announcement has shaken up not only North Carolina’s Senate race, but also the broader fight for the majority in the chamber heading into next year’s midterm elections.

Democrats face a difficult task of netting four seats to win the Senate majority. Aside from battleground North Carolina, the party’s top pickup opportunity is in Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins is the only Republican senator representing a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024. But the five-term incumbent has proved difficult to unseat.

And beyond that, Democrats would need to win races in traditionally red states, in addition to holding a handful of swing-state seats.

But with Tillis now declining to seek a third term, Democrats are starting to see a clearer, if still uphill, path to the majority.

“If Democrats want to take back the Senate, it starts in North Carolina,” said Morgan Jackson, a veteran Democratic consultant in the state.