RALEIGH, N.C. – When President Donald Trump fired up a crowd at a North Carolina airport last week, he gave a shout-out to the home-state senator fighting in his own tough reelection battle that could decide control of the chamber.Republican Sen.
Thom Tillis, Trump said, has “been by my side!”But at that moment, Tillis wasn’t. Sitting among the thousands in the outdoor Winston-Salem crowd, the senator was in the small minority wearing a face mask to protect against the coronavirus that the president and many conservatives have downplayed. “If scientists are telling me to wear a mask, I’m going to wear a mask,” Tillis said recently at a small Raleigh campaign event.How Tillis remains close to Trump politically could determine whether he wins.