Tillis endorses Graham for NC governor, snubbing Robinson
One of North Carolina's most influential Republicans is endorsing Bill Graham for governor in 2024, a strong rebuke of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the GOP frontrunner.
In an interview with a conservative magazine, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis — a Republican who has served in Congress since 2015 and before that was Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives — said Robinson lacks the experience needed to be governor of one of the biggest states in the nation.
“Mark Robinson’s a good enough guy. I don’t know him that well,” Tillis told the National Review in an interview Friday. “But he has virtually no legislative experience, very little business experience. We’re a very, very important state and we have to have people with that kind of experience, I think, to continue this track record that we’ve had since Republicans took control of North Carolina when I became speaker. And so for those reasons, I’ve decided to support Bill.”
Dan Kelyin, a senior Tillis advisor, confirmed the endorsement for WRAL. Graham’s campaign manager Alex Baltzegar told WRAL Graham was grateful for Tillis’ endorsement.
“Bill Graham is laser-focused on winning a conservative future for North Carolina and is building a coalition of supporters from all swaths of the Republican Party,” he said. “Bill really appreciates Sen. Thom Tillis's support and is ready to prosecute the case against Joe Biden and the Democrats' failed record on the economy, crime, and education.”
In response Friday, Robinson slammed Graham as "nothing but a pawn" of the political elite who want to stop Robinson from becoming governor.
"The real reason is they don’t like that I haven’t ‘paid my dues,'" Robinson said in a written statement. "They don’t think that average people should be in government. They think that only the elites like themselves are qualified to serve, and that those seeking office need to be vetted by them and work their way up the ladder."
State Treasurer Dale Folwell — who is also running for governor and was a top lieutenant to Tillis when they served together in the state legislature — said the only endorsement he cares about is the one voters will make during the March primary.
“Unlike most, my net worth has not increased by being elected,” he said. “I'll be the best governor money can't buy and will look forward to working with the senior senator from North Carolina to save lives ,minds and money for North Carolinians.”
Former state senator Andy Wells, who is also seeking the GOP nomination for governor, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Graham, a wealthy attorney from Salisbury, has less political experience than Robinson. He lost the 2008 GOP primary for governor against Pat McCrory and has held some appointed political roles, though never any elected office. But Tillis said Graham is the better candidate.
“I intend to do everything I can to help him get the nomination,” Tillis told National Review. “It’s not a personality thing to me or personal thing. I’m looking at two resumes, and there’s a stark contrast in capabilities.”
Graham is trying to stand out from the GOP pack, positioning himself as a successful lawyer who has articulated plans to address specific issues such as gang prevention, cutting taxes, increasing unemployment and preventing Chinese interests from investing in farmland.
After pledging $5 million of his own money, Graham is the only candidate with television ads airing across the state — an investment that has helped him make small gains in recent polls. Graham received 5% support in a Meredith Poll conducted between Nov. 1 and Nov. 5 — only two weeks after the launch of his campaign. An ECU poll released this week shows Graham (8%) in second, followed by state Treasurer Dale Folwell (7%) and Andy Wells (3%), a real estate developer and former state senator.
Robinson was still the clear favorite in the ECU poll (34%) and the Meredith Poll (41%). More than 40% of voters were still undecided in both polls.
Robinson, a fiery speaker who captivates conservative audiences, became North Carolina's first Black lieutenant governor when he was first elected in 2020, due in large part to his fame from a 2018 viral video talking about gun rights. He had never held political office before his 2020 victory. Robinson was endorsed this month by state Senate leader Phil Berger and he has the backing of former President Donald Trump.
On Friday Robinson dismissed Tillis as a RINO, or Republican In Name Only, and said he's happy to have been previously endorsed by North Carolina's other senator, Ted Budd, who is more aligned with the Trump wing of the party.
"I am not a politician," Robinson said. "I am a public servant who feels called to be a voice for the people of my state, and stand up for them. So while the RINO elites plot to take me down, I’ll continue to fight, and I’m honored I won’t be doing it alone."
Like Trump, Robinson is a highly polarizing figure, earning himself staunch critics as well as passionate supporters inside and outside his party. In social media posts and podcast appearances, he has advanced Holocaust denialism and conspiracy theories about Jewish people secretly controlling international politics and the media — a history he’s tried to counteract in recent months with a trip to Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Robinson is also vocally anti-gay, telling one church audience in March that the reason God created him was to fight against LGBTQ issues, WRAL reported. He enjoys massive support among evangelical Christians and pro-gun activists, two key parts of the GOP base.
It's not the first time Tillis has gone against a popular-yet-divisive GOP figure from the far-right wing of the party. In 2022 he became heavily involved in the Republican primary in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, helping state Sen. Chuck Edwards unseat controversial incumbent U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
It's not clear whether Tillis’s endorsement of Graham will do much to harm Robinson among the state's most plugged-in conservative activists — the type who vote in low-turnout primaries. Earlier this year, local GOP politicians and activists from around the state voted to formally censure Tillis at the annual North Carolina Republican Party Convention, citing in large part his support for gay marriage.
At that same convention in June, Trump told the crowd he'd soon endorse Robinson. So far that endorsement hasn't come, but the National Review also reported that Robinson will be at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort next week for a fundraiser.
And while polls continue to show Robinson with a clear lead in the Republican primary, many in the GOP's more establishment circles are worried by his history of financial struggles, including failure to pay taxes or rent, and criminal convictions for writing bad checks — details that Robinson says make him more relatable to everyday voters.
“We need a public servant, someone who's actually lived through the struggles of everyday North Carolinians,” Robinson said when he announced his campaign in April. “I know what it's like to grow up poor, in a household mired by alcoholism, violence and uncertainty.”
Some in party leadership also worry that Robinson's inflammatory rhetoric, while appealing to the party base, might be too much for more moderate voters — and could end up handing the governorship to the Democrats instead. Attorney General Josh Stein and former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan are the leading Democratic candidates seeking their party’s nomination to replace Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited.
WRAL reporter Brian Murphy contributed to this report.
