Bio
Senator Thomas Rolland Tillis is an American politician. He has served as a junior U.S. Senator from North Carolina as a Republican since 2015. He was also a member of the North Carolina House of Reps.
Senator Thom Tillis was born on August 30, 1960, in Jacksonville, Florida. He was born to Margue and Thomas Raymond Tillis, a boat draftsman. In 1978, Tillis graduated from high school, after which he left home to get a job. He worked at an insurance company to computerize records. He also worked at Wang Laboratories in Boston. He attended Chattanooga State Community College.
In 1996, Senator Thom Tillis graduated from the University of Maryland. There, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Technology Management. After his graduation, Tillis worked at IBM and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (now PwC).
Senator Thom Tillis Career
In 2002, Tillis began his political career in Cornelius. There, he contested for a local bike trail and won the town’s park board. In 2003, he was elected for the board of commissioners in Cornelius.
After a two-year term as the commissioner, he reached for a seat at the general assembly. He defeated John W. Rhodes in the Republican primary and won the election. He was re-elected unopposed in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
He formally left IBM in 2009 and was a campaign chairman for the House Republican Caucus in 2010.
In 2014, Tillis announced his candidacy for a seat in the US Senate. He won the election by 48.8%. He was re-elected in 2020
Senator Thom Tillis Accomplishments
Tillis fostered economic development through powerful and stringent economic policies.
He worked on environmental development and preservation. During his time in the Senate, he voted for a renewable portfolio standard. This aimed to increase the state’s access to renewable energy. He also championed the protection of water from pollution.
Tillis also made legislative achievements in creating effective foreign policies and immigration reforms. He also worked on improving access to quality and affordable healthcare.
As a North Carolina speaker of the House in 2011, he initiated the passage of the Justice Reinvestment Act, sweeping criminal justice reform legislation. He also successfully secured an initial down-payment of up to $1.18 billion in disaster relief funding for North Carolina.
Tillis and Klobuchar helped veterans that were exposed to toxic burns. He worked on researching the health risks of the exposure. He also made efforts to efficiently and effectively treat the victims
Senator Thom Tillis Criticisms
In early October 2020, it was reported that Sen. Thom Tillis had sent sexually suggestive texts and ads to a woman who wasn’t his wife, which he denied.
Tillis was criticized and called a racist for his suggestion that Hispanics are less likely to wear masks during the COVID pandemic. Tillis was also condemned for voting against the investigation of the U.S. Capitol attack
