COOK REPORT: Voters Simply Don’t Trust Tillis, Downgrades Republican Prospects

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The alarm bells keep wringing for the Tillis reelection campaign. The famous Cook Political Report is out with an analysis of this race, which includes a very blunt message for Tillis:

“The bottom line is that voters of all ideological stripes simply don’t trust Tillis.” – Cook Political Report

Well, no real room for interpretation there, huh? The message is clear enough that they’ve moved the race from ‘Likely Republican’ to ‘Leans Republican.’

“[…] It’s not surprising then that Tillis pulled primary opposition.  Smith, a farmer, poses less of a threat than Tucker.  Tucker retired as chairman and CEO of Triangle Capital in 2016; the company was sold last year for $1 billion.  A longtime conservative, Tucker has authored two books, The High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge and the 1924 Election and Conservative Heroes: Fourteen Leaders Who Changed America, from Jefferson to Reagan.  Tucker seems to have ample personal resources to put in the race; as of June 30, he put $700,000 into the race, which amounted to most of the $1 million he reported.  Tillis had nearly $4.4 million in the bank at the end of the second quarter. […]”

We know that Tillis just dumped half of that figure to try and fend off Tucker. Tillis’ weaknesses make him more vulnerable to a strong Democrat, which is cause for the downgrade in projection, but, curiously, the analyst thinks prospects for Republican victory dim further if Tucker upsets Tillis.

Take that for what it is worth, but it seems hard to imagine an anti-establishment surge that propels Tucker past Tillis not finding synergy with Trump 2020 in the Old North State.

Read the rests of the break down from the Cook Political Report here.