Under the Dome: Tillis challenger launches 2026 campaign; top academic officer named
Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter. I’m Emily Vespa.
A GOP challenger to Sen. Thom Tillis in the 2026 primary announced his campaign Monday, joining the race to represent Republicans in what some expect to be the most expensive Senate election in history.
Andy Nilsson, a Winston-Salem teacher assistant and businessman who’s long been involved in North Carolina politics, filed paperwork earlier this month with the Federal Election Commission to raise campaign money.
North Carolina’s far-right Republicans have mounted calls to primary Tillis, who’s faced censure from his party for his votes on issues like gay marriage and gun safety. Nilsson, 57, has positioned himself as a staunch conservative who won’t falter from President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“What we’re communicating to people across the state is that they need to be able to have a conservative Republican senator that they can trust, that is not going to tell them what they want to hear and then vote different,” Nilsson said in an interview during his lunch break at R.J. Reynolds High School, where he’s also an assistant football coach.
Nilsson ran unsuccessfully in the 2000 GOP primary for lieutenant governor. Before that, he helped lead former Charlotte mayor Richard Vinroot’s 1996 gubernatorial campaign and former Sen. Richard Burr’s 1994 run for a U.S. House seat.
Nilsson has previously been critical of Trump: In a 2019 Charlotte Observer letter to the editor, Nilsson said he “is not upholding the ideals of our party and our country.”
“His administration violates duties of office with callous indifference,” Nilsson wrote. “And President Trump expects Republicans to fall in line behind him, regardless.”
Now, Nilsson said Trump has earned his respect. His campaign website says he’s “unapologetically MAGA.” Nilsson said he’s supportive of Trump’s effort to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government and his proposal to close the Department of Education.
As primary competition builds, Tillis’ stances on Trump’s Cabinet nominees are being closely watched as a signal of his loyalty to the president. He cast a crucial vote in support of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday, reports T. Keung Hui.
NEW HEAD OF ACADEMICS FOR NC SCHOOLS
A longtime educator will get a second chance to be in charge of academics for North Carolina’s public schools.
State Superintendent Mo Green announced Monday that he has hired Stacey Wilson-Norman to be the chief academic officer at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. She’ll start March 24 after leaving her position as Wake County’s chief academic advancement officer.
In September 2017, the State Board of Education hired Wilson-Norman to be chief academic officer. But State Superintendent Mark Johnson objected, saying he should decide on the position based on a 2016 state law making him head of DPI.
After winning his lawsuit against the State Board, Johnson demoted Wilson-Norman to division director of curriculum and instruction. Wilson-Norman left DPI in August 2018 to become Cumberland County’s chief academic officer.
Wilson-Norman was also previously deputy superintendent of academic services for Durham Public Schools. She has led Wake’s instructional systems since 2022.
“Stacey Wilson-Norman has a well-earned reputation for her leadership of instructional practices in North Carolina’s public schools,” Green said in a news release. “Her work has contributed to higher graduation rates, fewer low-performing schools and increased access to mental health services in the districts she’s served. I’m confident she will continue to make a significant impact as we work together to improve outcomes for all students across the state.”
– T. Keung Hui
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT CONSIDERS ELECTION LEGAL BATTLE
The federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday heard arguments in North Carolina’s legal battle over the outcome of the state Supreme Court election in November, Kyle Ingram reports from Richmond, Virginia.
GOP candidate Jefferson Griffin has asked state courts to consider his challenges to the validity of over 65,000 ballots cast in the race he narrowly lost. But Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs and the State Board of Elections have argued that the issue should be taken up by federal courts because it implicates federal laws.
The case is currently playing out in both state and federal court. The 4th Circuit could change that.
Read more about what the parties argued in federal court here, by Ingram in Richmond and Avi Bajpai in Raleigh.
BUDD JOINS SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE
Sen. Ted Budd has been picked to serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee, filling the seat of now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he announced Monday.
“I am ready to join Chairman Cotton and my colleagues to ensure the intelligence community is focused on providing objective analysis to decision-makers, while protecting the privacy and civil liberties of Americans enshrined in our Constitution,” Budd said in a news release.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE WORKING ON
The investigation into former State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s use of a state vehicle has closed with no charges filed, reports Avi Bajpai.
Today’s newsletter was by Emily Vespa and T. Keung Hui. Check your inbox tomorrow for more #ncpol.
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