BURSTFormer Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) is running for Senate to try to unseat North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis (R) next year in the Tar Heel State, he announced Wednesday.
Nickel, who previously represented North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District in the House for one term, is the first Democrat to get in the race. Tillis's seat will be a top target for Democrats to flip in 2026.
Nickel made the announcement in a post on the social platform X, saying President Trump is “shredding our Constitution and tanking our economy.”
“Thom Tillis lacks the courage to stand up to him — I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit on the sidelines,” Nickel said. “I’m running to fight for a better future for North Carolinians.”
Nickel was first elected to the House in 2022 but chose not to run for reelection last year after the Republican-led North Carolina Legislature revised the state’s district map and made the 13th District considerably more friendly to Republican candidates. Nickel argued the GOP “rigged the system” in its favor.
“Extreme Republicans knew they couldn’t beat him at the ballot box, so they redrew the maps so that he couldn’t run again,” Nickel’s campaign website reads. “But Wiley has never been one to back down from a fight. He’s running for Senate to continue the work he started in Congress: protecting social security and Medicaid, fighting inflation, and working with members of both parties to lower the cost of living for North Carolina families.”
Nickel’s decision is not a surprise, as he hinted as early as his decision not to run for another House term that he may seek Tillis’s seat.
Nickel may face competition for the Democratic nomination if former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) chooses to run for the seat as he has expressed interest in doing. Cooper was a popular two-term governor of the state who won his elections even as Trump carried his state in the presidential races, and Democrats have expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of him running.
In the video announcing his candidacy, Nickel called Tillis a “rubber stamp” for Trump and said the state needs a “fighter.” He mentioned his background working in the Obama White House, starting a business in North Carolina and running for state Senate to advocate for abortion rights, voting rights and better pay for teachers.
He noted that he won a tough House race in 2022 and worked on affordable housing, health care and ending gerrymandering.
“This is a moment for a new generation of leadership with a fresh vision and the courage to fight for what’s right,” Nickel said.
North Carolina will be one of Democrats’ two main targets for flipping next year along with Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins (R) is up for reelection. The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the North Carolina race as “lean Republican.”