July 27, 2025

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When Republicans were desperate to win the 2014 Senate election in North Carolina, they selected Thom Tillis as their nominee. Tillis was the Speaker of the state House when the GOP enacted a sprawling anti-voting law. In considering what provisions to include, a top Tillis aide had requested racial data to confirm the law would negatively impact Black voters more harshly than white voters.

In a state with more than 1.5 million Black voters, Tillis won that election by fewer than 50,000 votes. Though the law was later struck down for intentionally targeting Black voters “with almost surgical precision,” the damage had been done.

Over 10 years later, Republicans are once again preparing for a critical Senate election in North Carolina. And they are tripling down on their old dirty tricks.

This time, their preferred candidate is Mike Whatley, a North Carolina lawyer and current RNC chair. Whatley campaigned for chair by convincing Trump that he would be more aggressive in attacking voting rights than his predecessor, Ronna McDaniel. And his tenure at the RNC was marked by prioritizing programs aimed at making it harder to vote and easier for Republicans to cheat if they disagree with the outcome. 

This includes a broad expansion of the GOP’s litigation efforts. As Whatley gets ready to step down as chair, the Republican Party is involved in more than half of all the voting and election cases currently pending in court. Of the 143 active voting and election cases pending in 42 states, the GOP is involved in 73 of them. 

Donald Trump, who has already endorsed Whatley’s Senate candidacy, may be election denialism’s spiritual leader — but Mike Whatley is one of its most important architects. In the last year, no other single individual has done so much to deny so many the right to vote in free and fair elections.

North Carolina Republicans are already doing their part to aid Whatley’s candidacy. The state’s partisan election board is proposing to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters before we even get to 2026, and the GOP-controlled legislature is considering another massive anti-voting bill to add to those totals. 

Unlike 2014, Republicans have an assortment of new tools to effectuate their plans to subvert free and fair elections in North Carolina and around the country. Attorney General Pam Bondi has already turned the Department of Justice into a government-staffed vehicle for Trump’s political objectives. The once proud guardian of voting rights has jumped head first into voter suppression litigation and is already participating in 17 voting and election cases.

In the last decade, Republicans have learned that their ruthless attack on voting comes at virtually no political cost. The legacy media treats Trump’s assaults on democracy with disgraceful neutrality — sometimes bordering on admiration. Meanwhile, it holds Democrats seeking to defend their partisan interests to an entirely different standard.

House Republicans are counting on this dynamic to engage in an unprecedented round of mid-cycle redistricting to further gerrymander already rigged maps. Though right now all eyes are on Texas — where Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican state legislature are trying to squeeze out another five congressional seats — if national Republicans have their way, this latest GOP gambit will not end in Texas. 

It is no surprise that these efforts are taking place at a perilous time in our nation’s history. Donald Trump is a deeply unpopular authoritarian who is willing to do anything to remain unchecked by Congress. He is in the midst of a scandal and is desperate to regain control over the political narrative. He is flailing in his efforts to change the subject. 

Under these circumstances, Republicans will double down on their attacks on elections and Trump’s promotion of false conspiracy theories. But, there is good news. Democrats are fighting back.

As we know, Republicans make up their own rules and hope no one questions them. Therefore, those of us in the pro-democracy camp can no longer afford to play by the traditional rules. We need to take decisive, strong action. 

First, we need to call Republican election deniers and vote suppressors what they are: election deniers and voter suppressors. No more respectful honorifics or polite gestures. If they want to rig democracy against the voters, they have forfeited anything but our contempt.

Second, it is important that states run by Democrats enact pro-voting measures this year. Every single state can make its laws more voter-friendly. Equally important, states must use their legislative power under the U.S. Constitution to make their voting procedures resistant to Trump’s meddling. There is no time to waste. States must be bold and unafraid to protect their voters.

Third, donors and philanthropy must support pro-democracy organizations — particularly those fighting for free and fair elections. The disparity of resources that currently exists between those subverting elections and those fighting to protect them is unsustainable. Now is the time to lead with bold grants to both non-partisan and partisan groups fighting for democracy in court.

Finally, states with Democratic trifectas should restart their redistricting processes now to explore the feasibility of reducing — or eliminating — Republican leaning congressional districts in their states. There will no doubt be barriers, legal and political, in some places, but now is the time to think creatively and strategically about how we overcome them. 

Republicans only know raw power. They will only stop their escalation of attacks on elections if they pay a costly price. Now is the time for the gloves to come off.

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