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.”

Jordan Shaw, a Tillis political consultant who is also working as spokesman for Graham’s campaign, 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.”

And that problem you mention seemed to be quite true in Kentucky a month ago.

What do you base that on? The whitest areas voted for Cameron. The most Republican areas voted for Cameron. He got 47% of the vote - if he didn't have white support he could have had far less than this. And Cameron was an elected incumbent official - further contradicting this alleged "problem." He was already elected, and his race was not hidden...everyone knew who he was...and he was nominated overwhelmingly against very strong opponents. Only the yellow dog Democrat and urban/suburban areas where the Beshears have long been popular voted against him...but he even carried Pike County, so if his race was still a reason he was not going to get support he would not have won there. Kentucky is long past that now...it has become less racist as it has become more Republican.

Stop pushing the Left's attacks on our party. It's a lie.

“What do you base that on? The whitest areas voted for Cameron.”

I base that on facts as opposed to emotional wailing, and “the whitest areas voted for Cameron” is NOT a fact.

Bath County: 95% white, Cameron lost. Trump won it twice by heavy margins.

Boyd County: 93% white, Cameron lost. Trump won it twice by solid margins.

Breathitt County: 96% white, Cameron lost. Same Trump comment as the others.

Campbell County: 92% white, Cameron lost. Trump won here in 2020 by almost 20 points.

Floyd County: 97% white, Cameron lost. Trump got 75%.

Knott County: 97% white, Cameron lost. Trump got over 75%.

Letcher County: 97% white, Cameron lost. Trump got almost 80%.

See a pattern yet?

Magoffin, Nelson, Nicholas, Perry, Powell, Rowan, Wolfe.

All fit exactly the same description as the others.

Cameron got elected A.G. in the 2019 downballot statewide sweep in Kentucky. Maybe, just maybe, voters are a tiny bit more aware of who the candidates are for Governor than they are for races like A.G., Comptroller, Dog Catcher, Prothonotary or whatever.

When black candidates run as Republicans in HIGH PROFILE races in marginal states — and sometimes even supposedly solid GOP states like Kentucky — they lose way more often than they win.

That doesn’t mean the GOP shouldn’t run — or support — a black candidate if he is the best option available. WE may support the guy but clearly a decisive proportion of those lily-white voters did not. Maybe they had other reasons, but lying about Cameron’s wonderful (but actually non-existent) landslide among white voters isn’t helpful.

See a pattern yet?

You showed absolutely no pattern at all. You were comparing the Presential race vs. how those counties typically vote in gubernatorial races. The same disparagement in vote numbers can be found with any typical gubernatorial race with an "all white" cast. I already accounted for the "yellow dog" areas...you only read a portion of what I wrote and responded to it.

2007 Beshear vs. Fletcher

2011 Beshear vs. Williams

2015 Conway vs. Bevin

2019 Beshear vs. Bevin

2023 Beshear vs. Cameron

Here's your actual pattern. Nothing more than the fact Beshear vastly outraised and outspent Cameron and Beshear had an approval rating in the 60s...his approval rating was quite undeserved, but he controlled the narrative and never had to really answer for any of his ultra leftist behavior and governing philosophy, and was able to pain Cameron as a crazy extremist that didn't care if children were raped...as outlandish as such claims are, they start to sour what people may think of you subconsciously if it is continually said without refutation, even among base voters.

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