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Thom Tillis has solidly conservative issue positions; but more importantly, he doesn’t just talk the talk, he has walked the walk. Tillis has a remarkable record of achievement as Speaker, spearheading a conservative revolution in NC. When the GOP achieved a majority after 2010 (for the first time since Reconstruction), but when the governor was a Democrat who could veto conservative bills, he still got a few measures passed with veto overrides, and obtained the votes to place the NC Marriage Amendment on the ballot for a May 2012 vote (it was approved by the voters with 61%). Moreover, due to the fact that the NC Constitution does not allow the governor to veto redistricting plans, Tillis and his fellow Republicans obtained passage of redistricting maps for the state house and senate that cement 60%-70% GOP majorities in both houses for at least the next decade (and since the maps pretty much guarantee that Republicans will control both houses after each subsequent census, they can just redraw the maps again each decade to remain in power in perpetuity), and of a redistricting map for Congress that turned an 8-5 Democrat U.S. House delegation into a 10-3 GOP U.S. House delegation (it currently is 9-4 GOP because Democrat Mike McIntyre held on by like 700 votes in 2012, but he already announced his retirement and the seat is not rated “safe Republican”). And with a Republican governor being sworn in in January 2013, Tillis has shepherded an incredible amount of conservative legislation through the House, on voter ID and other election matters, abortion, labor relations, taxes, environmental issues, etc.