I wouldn’t call the Speaker of the House a “third-tier candidate.” I’d say that Speaker Thom Tillis is first-tier, or at least very close to it.
Some people object to Thom Tillis because he’s too “establishment,” but I think that his voting record and the conservative agenda that he has shepherded through the NC House over the past three years should dispel any notion that he’s a “go along to get along” type of politician. He has put the Democrats in the crosshairs and fired away, obtaining passage of a killer redistricting plan that made 2/3 of state house and senate districts strongly GOP (although RAT incumbents managed to hold on to a couple) and turned an 8-5 RAT U.S. House delegation into a 10-3 GOP U.S. House delegation starting next January, passed voter-ID laws, greater restrictions on abortion, lowered taxes, reformed labor laws, etc.
I agree, Tillis is first or high-2nd tier. It is curious he’s the only one the though against a bunch of previously unknown persons. None of the US Reps. running. I guess they major players cleared the field for him.