When Aimee Greenfield, a real estate agent in Sparta, N.C., posted in a Facebook group for Orthodox Jews last year with information about plots of land for sale in an undeveloped gated community in her town, she had two goals. 

The first was to convince enough Orthodox Jews to uproot their lives and move to a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains in order to start a new, close-knit rural Jewish community there, which might eventually sustain a synagogue and a kosher supermarket — all in the hopes that Greenfield’s kids, who are religiously observant, would move there and live close to her. 

The second goal was downstream of the first, but still important to Greenfield, herself an observant Jew who has lived in Sparta for 13 years: get enough Jewish women in this town of fewer than 2,000 people near the Virginia border for Greenfield to be able to sustain a weekly mahjong game. “I’m not worried,” she said when speaking with Jewish Insider last Thursday, while braiding and decorating six challahs for Shabbat. “I’m going to accomplish both goals before I die.”

Her enthusiastic Facebook posts found their way early last year to Yudi Gross, a financial planner in Florida who, after reaching Greenfield on the phone, flew to North Carolina to meet her. Gross thought he might buy a plot of land to develop a vacation home for his family. Instead, he spotted a business opportunity, and a spiritual one. With other private investors, Gross bought the entire gated community, with plans to build 350 homes. He called the project Shefa Living, “shefa” being Hebrew for “abundance.” 

“If we were to build a Jewish Orthodox community from scratch, how can we do it differently, and how can we do it in a way that creates healthy environments for the children to learn and grow, and healthy environments for adults to continue to learn and grow?” Gross said in a recent interview with JI. 

He knows his pitch is somewhat unorthodox: Move to the mountains. In North Carolina. To a tiny town with no synagogue and few other Jews for miles. But what he’s pitching is a radical vision of what observant Judaism could look like if not bound to the geographical constraints that have kept Orthodox communities from rural living. 

“This is not just 25-30 people who want to have a nice place in the summer. This is a dream for so many people,” said Gross. “I hope this transforms the way Orthodox families can choose to live geographically.”

He chose Sparta out of what some in the Jewish community might deem bashert, a Yiddish word for “destiny” or “soul mate.” After seeing Greenfield’s post, he didn’t consider whether other areas might be better suited for a new Jewish community; he felt there was something magical about Sparta. 

Still, Gross, who founded a wealth management firm, knows recruiting people to the neighborhood is a heavy lift. The nearest cities, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, are over an hour away, and Charlotte is nearly two hours away. People who buy homes in Mountain View, as the neighborhood will be called, must also buy into the vision of building a tight-knit community from the ground up (literally — the homes won’t be ready for at least a year).  

Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Twerski, a rabbi from Monsey, N.Y., is on board to oversee religious matters in the community. Plans are underway to build a mikveh, a kosher supermarket, an Orthodox school system and a yeshiva — a second location of Yeshivas Lev Simcha, a religious school in Boca Raton, Fla. A synagogue has already been constructed. 

All has not gone perfectly to plan; a group of yeshiva students were set to move to Sparta this fall, but zoning issues delayed the first batch of residents from coming to Mountain View until September 2026. But local officials in Sparta are excited about the community, according to Gross, a contrast to the antisemitic resistance put up in some New Jersey municipalities where Orthodox populations have increased in recent years. 

“It’s almost unheard of, from my experience, to see such a community being so open-armed about Orthodox Jews moving in,” Gross said. “I remember going to town, people stopped us to say shalom.” Greenfield noted that Sparta is a conservative Bible Belt town: “They love Jewish people,” she said simply. 

Glossy marketing materials on Shefa Living’s website call it a “new Torah-centric community in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” A frequently asked questions section touts North Carolina’s low state income tax and property tax rates, an educational voucher program and a lower cost of living. 

Mountain View is described as a place “where Yiddishkeit, spacious living and nature are seamlessly intertwined for mountain living without compromise.” A brochure shows three-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot homes starting at $549,000, and five-bedroom, 4,200-square-foot homes starting at just over $1 million. 

Buyers have put down deposits on 60 homes, Gross said. Starting in September, they’ll choose their lots, and work with developers on selecting upgrades and finishes in the new homes. More than 150 people have visited North Carolina to tour the site. 

One of the first Mountain View homeowners is Blimy, a mother of four from South Florida who asked that only her first name be used to protect her family’s privacy. She and her husband decided to jump in at the beginning to help build the community because they were true believers in its mission — the slow pace of life in a quieter community with fresh air and proximity to hiking, rivers and more. 

“I always wanted to be a hermit in the mountains, but then you’re missing community. I love the idea of having quiet around you, being able to feel yourself and feel your inner alignment and feeling connection to Hashem, to spirituality from within,” Blimy told JI. 

Most of the visitors to Sparta have come from New York, Florida and California, according to Gross. The earliest buyers know that going first means they’ll be arriving next year to help build Mountain View, when some of the proposed amenities, like a fully stocked kosher supermarket, may not yet be open. It may require commuting back to their old communities for work, or seeking remote opportunities.

“I think that the people who are going to be drawn here first are the pioneer types, the ones who are not needing the support that other people might need right away. They’re interested in leadership,” said Blimy. “I’m looking forward to the kind of community that this will be at the outset, because I think it will be really special, and what it will evolve into.”

After a majority of Senate Democrats voted last week to cut off some military sales to Israel, the issue has emerged as a dividing line in some key Senate primaries. The votes have become a pivotal test in determining which members have maintained their support for Israel, and those who are responding to the political pressure from the party’s progressive activist base.

All told, most of the leading recruits — from former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) to Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) — have said they would have voted with the pro-Israel wing of the party against the two resolutions sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). But there are some notable divisions that are emerging in key races.

Here’s a quick overview of the Democratic candidates’ views in the key open seat races:

MI-SEN: Stevens, a pro-Israel stalwart, said she would have voted against the Sanders resolutions on cutting off military aid, as the state’s delegation was divided on the vote. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) voted against it, but newly elected Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who missed the vote to appear on Stephen Colbert’s talk show, said she would have supported the anti-Israel measure.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who earlier this year had been meeting with Jewish groups to reassure them of her pro-Israel bona fides, publicly broke with her past positions. “The United States has to stop providing Netanyahu with offensive weapons that do nothing but continue to extend this war,” she said. At a campaign event last Wednesday, she slammed the Israeli prime minister further: “We cannot let this man tell us that what we are seeing with our own eyes is not what is actually happening.”

Abdul el-Sayed, a vocal Israel critic, didn’t release any statements about the vote or respond to requests for comment on the prospect of blocking offensive weapons sales to Israel. But as a longtime Sanders ally, it’s safe to assume he’s aligned with the push to withhold aid.

IL-SEN: Krishnamoorthi and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton have come out against Sanders’ anti-Israel resolutions, while also calling for Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) joined with Sanders in saying she would have voted for the resolutions despite her general pro-Israel voting record in the past.

NC-SEN: Cooper said he would support other ways of pressuring Israel to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza, but said he would have voted against the resolutions cutting off aid. Cooper is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination in a key swing-state seat. 

NH-SEN: Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), the expected Democratic nominee who has maintained a pro-Israel voting record in the House, said he would have voted against the resolutions in an interview with WMUR-TV: “I would have opposed these resolutions because I believe that we should be holding Hamas to account and realizing a future for the Palestinian people.”

MN-SEN: Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), the early front-runner and a pro-Israel moderate, has not publicly explained — or responded to JI — how she would have voted. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, running as the progressive in the primary, told JI she would have supported the resolutions, adding, “She believes all of the hostages need to be brought home, that leaders in the U.S. and Israel must do more to get aid into Gaza, and that all sides need this conflict to end.”

Stay tuned to JI for more reporting on where the candidates stand on an issue that’s emerging as a dividing line inside the party.

North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper, the state’s former governor, rejected efforts to withhold U.S. aid to Israel, days after the Senate voted on legislation to block certain U.S. arms sales to Israel, his campaign told Jewish Insider.

“The Governor believes it’s urgent for the United States to use other means of pressure on the Israeli government to step up now and find ways to get food to people who desperately need it and return the hostages,” a Cooper campaign aide said. “He would consider the specific text of any bills that came before the Senate, but generally does not believe we should withhold aid from a critical ally like Israel when they have to defend themselves against countries like Iran.”

Cooper, a moderate Democrat, has taken other steps in recent days to distance himself from anti-Israel elements of the Democratic Party, including rejecting a series of anti-Israel resolutions passed by state Democratic Party leadership. But it wasn’t until he entered the Senate race that he weighed in against the anti-Israel turn of the North Carolina Democratic party. 

The Senate’s Israel votes are proving to be a sensitive issue among Democratic Senate candidates across the country — and is emerging as a dividing line between the party’s moderates and progressives.

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to seek the Democratic nomination for North Carolina’s open Senate seat has equipped the party with a moderate standard-bearer with a strong relationship with the state’s Jewish community.

But his handling of anti-Israel activism within the North Carolina Democratic party is expected to become an issue in the Senate race, one that Republicans are already seeking to exploit.

Cooper served two terms as North Carolina governor, winning close contests even in elections when President Donald Trump carried the state. He previously served four terms as the state’s attorney general, where he compiled a tough-on-crime record that allowed him enough bipartisan support to win in a red-leaning state. In his nearly four decades in state politics, Cooper has never lost a race, notching a 16-0 record.

In recent years, Cooper has been forced to address issues of antisemitism among political leaders in the state — one against a Republican rival, and one involving activists within his own political party. 

Cooper said he decided to pass up consideration for the role of Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate because he didn’t want former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican with a history of posting racist and antisemitic content online, to temporarily assume the governor’s responsibilities. (North Carolina’s constitution states that the lieutenant governor, who is elected separately from the governor, assumes power in an acting capacity when the governor leaves the state.)

Cooper told Politico last July that Robinson, who has quoted Adolf Hitler, downplayed the Holocaust in social media posts and referred to himself as a “black Nazi” in an online porn forum, had previously claimed he was the acting governor while Cooper was traveling to Japan on official business. 

“I was on a recruiting trip to Japan,” Cooper said, referencing a trip in October of 2023. “He did claim he was acting governor. He did a big proclamation and press conference while I was gone. It was something about support for the state of Israel. It was obviously to make up for all of his antisemitic comments that he’d made, his denial of the Holocaust that he’d made over the years.”

But when confronted with anti-Israel extremism within his own state party, Cooper has been more cautious.

The former governor did not initially weigh in on the resolution passed by the North Carolina Democratic Party last month calling for an arms embargo on Israel, as well as on the other anti-Israel measures adopted by the state party. An advisor to Cooper told CNN at the time that the former governor “generally does not opine on party resolutions.” 

Reached for comment on the state party measures by Jewish Insider on Monday, Cooper said in a statement that he opposes the resolutions. 

“I don’t agree with the party resolution, and Israel is an important ally. Israel needs to take seriously the job of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza right now. The hostages must be returned and I continue to pray for a swift end to this war and a meaningful peace in the region,” Cooper told JI. 

Former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC), who was considering running for the Senate before Cooper announced his candidacy, had condemned the resolution as an “extreme” measure that amounted to a “death sentence for thousands.” 

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat and the state’s first Jewish governor, similarly expressed disapproval with the resolutions to JI on Monday.

“I disagree with the party’s anti-Israel resolutions and believe that our state party should focus on issues we’re facing here in North Carolina like the high cost of living, harmful cuts to people’s health care, and rising levels of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate. What’s happening in Gaza is devastating. Israel must allow in food and humanitarian supplies; Hamas must free the hostages; and they must work to achieve a just and lasting peace,” Stein told JI.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, have repeatedly hammered Cooper over his initial silence on the matter. 

“Cooper’s silence exposes his true character as a radical, pro-Hamas leftist and sends a clear message to Jewish North Carolinians that he’s with the extremists in his party and not them,” Nick Puglia, NRSC’s regional press secretary, said in a statement at the time of the vote.

Cooper offered his thoughts on Israel’s war with Hamas during an interview with the Technician, North Carolina State University’s news site, last March that has since been scrubbed from their website but is available through online archival services, stating that he believes, “This war is devastating. We’re seeing innocent civilians killed.”

“What you have is a terrorist organization, Hamas, that runs Gaza, who invaded Israel and committed atrocities, still holds hundreds of people hostage. At the same time, in Israel’s attempts to defend itself and to rid itself from Hamas, you’re seeing devastating consequences to civilians, women and children,” Cooper told the outlet. “I know that the president is working very hard toward a ceasefire, toward providing aid to Gaza, and that there’s so much hard work going on behind the scenes and now even more publicly, to make sure that the hostages are released, and to make sure that peace is brought to this area of the world.” 

“There needs to be a two-state solution here. We need the Arab countries to come together. But I do know that this Biden administration will work hard toward peace. You’re not going to see that from Donald Trump, who talks about how much he admires dictators across the world. That’s not going to be the solution to this,” he continued.

Pointing to the anti-Israel protests taking place on campuses last spring, Cooper added that, “It’s wonderful to live in a democracy when people’s voices can be heard and they’re unafraid to protest. In many countries, that’s not the case.”

In his tenure as governor, Cooper made North Carolina the 37th state in the nation to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. Cooper signed the SHALOM Act, which adopted the IHRA language as the state’s official definition of antisemitism, last July after it passed the state House and Senate in bipartisan fashion. 

“Defining antisemitism is important to stopping it, and this new law helps do that as antisemitic incidents are on the rise. While we protect the right to free speech, this legislation helps to make our state a more welcoming, inclusive and safe place for everyone,” Cooper said in a statement on the bill. 

In the month after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, he co-signed a letter with 10 fellow Democratic governors to congressional leaders urging more funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, amid an uptick in “threats in the Jewish and Muslim communities,” according to a press release from his office.

“Many houses of worship in North Carolina rely on the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to protect their congregations, and I encourage Congress to pass more funding for this vital program during this time of increased threats. The right to worship freely and without fear is fundamental to our country, and we are doing everything we can to protect that here in North Carolina,” Cooper said in a statement on the letter.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein criticized the resolutions passed by the state’s Democratic Party last month targeting Israel, urging party leaders on Monday to instead prioritize efforts that tackle the problems “we’re facing here in North Carolina.”

One of the adopted resolutions calls for an arms embargo on Israel and accuses the Jewish state of apartheid and genocide, while another draws an equivalence between Hamas and Israel, claiming that both have committed “terrorism” and taken “hostages.” Another resolution calls on the U.S. to exert influence to remove certain Israeli officials from power. 

Stein, a Democrat and the state’s first Jewish governor, told Jewish Insider in a statement on Monday that he was not in support of the measures, all of which were approved by the North Carolina Democratic Party’s State Executive Committee in late June. 

“I disagree with the party’s anti-Israel resolutions and believe that our state party should focus on issues we’re facing here in North Carolina like the high cost of living, harmful cuts to people’s health care, and rising levels of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate. What’s happening in Gaza is devastating. Israel must allow in food and humanitarian supplies; Hamas must free the hostages; and they must work to achieve a just and lasting peace,” Stein told JI. 

The resolutions have faced pushback from other Jewish leaders in the Tar Heel State, including former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), who now chairs the board of Democratic Majority for Israel, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, who announced his bid on Monday for retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) Senate seat. 

Cooper similarly called for Israel to ensure enough humanitarian assistance is allowed into Gaza to support Palestinians on the ground in his statement on the measures, which was provided to JI on Monday. 

“I don’t agree with the party resolution, and Israel is an important ally. Israel needs to take seriously the job of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza right now. The hostages must be returned and I continue to pray for a swift end to this war and a meaningful peace in the region,” Cooper told JI. 

The resolutions have also highlighted tensions between Jewish Democrats in the state and the NCDP, which voted against recognizing the NCDP Jewish Caucus in 2023 and has been beset by intra-party fights over Israel in its state policy platform. 

The NCDP Jewish Caucus said in a statement at the time that it had been trying to work “in good faith with party leaders to promote a balanced, inclusive approach to complex international issues” but that “those efforts have been met with resistance throughout the party’s resolutions process.”

The State Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party passed a resolution last weekend calling for an arms embargo on Israel, along with a series of other anti-Israel resolutions, moves that Republicans are already planning to use against statewide candidates as a sign of the party’s leftward drift.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has already seized upon the resolutions as a political weapon against current and potential Democratic Senate candidates — including the race for the battleground seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — with pro-Israel voters.

“North Carolina Democrats like Roy Cooper, Jeff Jackson [and] Wiley Nickel are responsible for their Party’s unapologetic appeasement of pro-Hamas radicals,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement, targeting the state’s former governor and former lawmakers, all moderates, with the same broad brush for not speaking out against the state party’s anti-Israel activity. 

“Anyone that supports Israel’s right to exist and defend itself must do whatever they can to make sure no North Carolina Democrat is elected to the U.S. Senate in 2026.”

The most prominent Democrats in the state have, thus far, been silent. Gov. Josh Stein; Cooper, the former governor and a likely Senate candidate; Nickel, a former congressman and current Senate candidate; and Jackson, the attorney general and a former congressman all did not respond to requests for comment.

The decision by the North Carolina Democratic Party’s leadership is another blow to the party’s Jewish Caucus — which faced internal opposition as it was forming — who argue that the resolutions are needlessly divisive and distract from what should be the core goal of the party: electing Democrats.

“The Jewish Caucus position is that we need to concentrate on getting a lot more Democrats elected, and we need to change the balance of things in the [North Carolina] House,” Perry Dror, North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus’ 2nd vice president, told Jewish Insider ahead of the weekend meeting. “It’s not going to do a thing to change the situation in the Middle East, it’s just going to divide the party and give all kinds of cannon fodder for the Republicans.”

The North Carolina Democratic Party also did not respond to a request for comment.

A source familiar with the proceedings at the State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting said that the final vote on the embargo resolution was close — a single-digit margin of victory out of hundreds of votes. Some members who had planned to vote against the resolutions were absent.

There was insufficient time for the committee to consider a series of other Israel-related resolutions, including a “Resolution for Democratic Unity,” which “condemns any and all acts of terrorism perpetrated Israel or Hamas” and “calls for the immediate release of Palestinian hostages taken by Israel,” in addition to the hostages being held by Hamas. Per meeting rules, since they were not considered, the resolutions were deemed to have been approved.

“A group of extremely vocal progressives were more interested in their issue, their singular issue, than they were with fighting for things that North Carolinians really are interested in, like what’s going to happen to Medicare and Medicaid, the price of housing, women’s reproductive rights,” Lisa Jewel, the president of the Jewish Caucus, told JI.

Jewel emphasized that the Jewish Caucus’ membership, totaling more than 500, is broad and is not in complete agreement on all issues pertaining to Israel, but the members largely agree that these resolutions will be harmful to the party. She said the Jewish Caucus has tried to work constructively with other groups pushing anti-Israel stances but has been rebuffed, and said party leadership needs to step up and take charge.

Jewel and other Jewish Caucus leaders emphasized that they want to see the party adopt a big-tent approach and focus on practical issues that affect North Carolina and local Democrats’ electoral prospects.

“I just need people to understand that antisemitism in North Carolina is double what it is nationwide. The antisemitic incidents are increasing, and they don’t get that. They don’t understand that their vote … is really affecting us,” Jewel said. “I really appreciate young peoples’ passions, but they don’t always think about what the repercussions are.”

Jewel attributed the issues in part to a lack of leadership from the party’s leaders, whom she said in an interview on Friday had seemed “flustered” by Israel and Middle East issues and took a back seat when they came up, rather than trying to bring party members together.

Caucus leaders said that the push for the anti-Israel resolutions had been growing for several years, and came to a head this year.

Resolutions like these are generated by local precincts and are passed up to the county, then congressional district, then state level, to the Resolutions Committee. The committee had a backlog of hundreds of resolutions to work through from both the current and previous year, which Amy DeLoach, the first vice president of the Jewish Caucus and a member of the Resolutions Committee, told JI before the weekend votes.

“It was literally an unachievable task,” DeLoach said. She said the Resolutions Committee chairs “did the best they could” but were facing “a group that were very persistent” in pressing to prioritize moving the Israel-related resolutions ahead to the full state party, rather than taking additional time to go through normal procedures and allow for further review.

DeLoach said she’s seen firsthand, as a state House candidate, the way that party resolutions can hurt Democratic candidates, blaming her own loss on Republicans tying her to a Progressive Caucus push to legalize drugs.

“These resolutions are nothing but a way to hamper the candidates, and the Jewish Caucus wants to do things that are going to push the Democratic Party forward,” DeLoach said.

Dror said that progressives, members of the Interfaith Caucus, as well as some members of the Muslim and Arab caucuses, “just nonstop harp on Israel.”

The chair of the party’s Interfaith Caucus, days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, defended the attack as “retaliation” for a supposed growth in Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount.

Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) sudden announcement on Sunday that he won’t seek reelection is kicking off one of the most competitive Senate contests of the 2026 cycle, and underscoring the precarious standing for moderate-minded lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Tillis, 64, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014, was already expected to face electoral headwinds from both directions in his bid for a third term. His pragmatic instincts angered right-winger Republicans back home while his willingness to ultimately support Trump’s agenda didn’t win him any goodwill with Democrats.

Tillis is the second congressional Republican with a record of winning tough races to retire over the weekend, joining Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who decided to leave Washington amid growing partisanship and polarization. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), another accomplished legislator who occasionally has antagonized his right flank, is also facing a difficult primary campaign against a right-wing opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

North Carolina is one of the Democrats’ strongest opportunities to flip a GOP-held Senate seat next year, and party leaders are hoping former Gov. Roy Cooper decides to run for the open seat. The Cook Political Report said on Sunday it had moved the race from Lean Republican to the “Toss Up” category.

“Cooper — who would likely clear the Democratic field if he runs — faces the prospect of a much easier open seat contest, while Republicans could have to sort out a messy primary field to succeed Tillis that is sure to produce a nominee further to the right than the outgoing GOP senator,” the Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylot wrote.

At least four Republicans have already confirmed they are considering entering the North Carolina Senate race, including Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and a North Carolina native; Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC), a freshman who was elected to succeed former GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry last year; Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC), who previously served as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives; and Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), a former urologist elected to the House in 2019. 

A source close to Lara Trump, who is married to the president’s son Eric, told NBC News on Monday afternoon that she is “strongly considering jumping in the race.” Asked what the odds were that Trump would get in the race, the source replied: “I’d put it as high as one could be considering it. …The race will be over before it begins.”

Lara Trump, 42, has expressed interest in joining the Senate as far back as 2021, when former Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) retired after becoming the subject of an insider trading probe, an investigation that ultimately ended without him facing criminal charges. She also discussed the possibility of filling the Senate vacancy in Florida left by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this year, though that seat ultimately went to Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), the state’s attorney general. 

Among the other GOP names being floated in the race to replace Tillis are Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who chaired the North Carolina GOP for five years prior to assuming his current role. 

In a statement responding to the news of Tillis’ announcement, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, made no mention of the outgoing senator, instead restating the party’s intention to keep the seat in GOP hands. 

“President Trump has won North Carolina three times, and the state’s been represented by two Republican senators for over a decade. That streak will continue in 2026 when North Carolinians elect a conservative leader committed to advancing an agenda of opportunity, prosperity, and security,” Scott said in a statement.

On the Democratic side, former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) has already launched his campaign, though major donors and national Democrats alike are urging Cooper to enter the race. The former two-term governor has told allies he expects to make a decision this summer. 

“Thom Tillis’ decision not to run for reelection is another blow to Republicans’ chances as they face a midterm backlash that puts their majority at risk. Even Tillis admits the GOP plan to slash Medicaid and spike costs for families is toxic – and in 2026, Democrats will flip North Carolina’s Senate seat,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle said. 

Tillis’ decision to bow out of politics also has implications for the current Congress. The North Carolina senator suggested in his retirement announcement that he intends to vote his conscience when he has policy disagreements with the president, setting him up as a key swing vote during the remainder of his tenure. 

“I look forward to solely focusing on producing meaningful results without the distraction of raising money or campaigning for another election. I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability,” Tillis said.

Republicans still maintain a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and are still strongly favored to maintain their majority in the upper chamber after next year’s midterms. Democrats need to flip four seats next year to win back the majority.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is expected to be another top Democratic target, but Democrats don’t have a lot of other obvious pickup opportunities aside from North Carolina and Maine. Party leaders may target Texas, especially if Cornyn loses his primary, and are expected to challenge Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) in the now-reliably Republican state. Ohio and Florida’s Senate seats, both held by appointed Republicans, may also become competitive if Democrats recruit strong challengers.