Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) secretly took sides in a Republican civil war that unfolded in his home state and toppled longtime state Senate President Phil Berger in his own primary.
According to The New York Times, Tillis held a Zoom call with wealthy Republican donors and sent a clear message that Berger's time was up.
"His comments — including that Mr. Berger had become too power hungry, according to five people familiar with the call who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting — have not been previously reported. But that a U.S. senator who is not seeking another term would get involved at all in a local race reflected just how eager many Republicans had been to topple Mr. Berger," said the report. "He is the country’s longest-serving active State Senate leader, in power since 2011, which has naturally attracted enemies and criticism."
According to the report, a number of Republicans in North Carolina "have long felt that their political ambitions have been stifled by Mr. Berger and his far-reaching network of lobbyists, corporate executives and government allies."
Berger was challenged by Sam Page, a far-right sheriff with close ties to the MAGA movement. Despite this, President Donald Trump had endorsed Berger for re-election, pitting him against Tillis, who has increasingly clashed with the president in the months leading up to and since his decision not to seek another term.
In one of the most prominent other fault lines, Tillis has put a block on Federal Reserve nominees until Trump agrees to back down from his efforts to criminally investigate the central bank, which is widely seen as a pressure tactic to undermine their independent decision-making and force them to cut interest rates against their judgment.
A key issue in the election was Berger's unsuccessful attempt to authorize a casino in Page's home county of Rockingham, which is deeply religious and was outraged at the effort to force a gambling industry on their community by powerful, distant interests.