Spirit of America celebration brings Republican senate candidates to Haywood
The event featured a car show with an award given for the most patriotic entry. Kyle Perrotti photo
Last weekend, Haywood County’s Republican Party hosted a fundraiser at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds that featured music, professional wrestling, a car show and a hearty helping of conservative politics.
Following the event, event organizer and Haywood GOP Treasurer Kim Genova thanked the volunteers that made the event go smoothly, as well as those who turned out.
“The event proved to be an excellent opportunity for everyone to celebrate the Spirit of America,” she said in a message. “We gathered as proud Americans to honor Flag Day — and enjoy great music, good food and amusing wrestling matches. It was a glorious day in Maggie Valley!”
Two candidates for the U.S. Senate seat up for election next year showed up for the event to engage with voters — Republicans Don Brown and Andy Nilsson — both of whom aim to unseat incumbent Thom Tillis in a primary. Both men tried to draw a contrast from Tillis, who has drawn heat from state and national Republicans at times when he’s bucked President Donald Trump’s agenda. Both Brown and Nilsson have run for office before — Brown for Congress in 2024 and Nilsson for Lieutenant Governor in 2000. They also both plan to run on a platform of unflinching loyalty to Trump.
While the two men are similar in their opposition to Tillis and want to support Trump’s agenda, their backgrounds are quite different.
Brown is a former Navy Judge Advocate General, meaning he served as an attorney, which he now does in civilian life at his Mecklenburg County law office. In addition, he’s a prolific writer who has penned over a dozen books. Brown said he is choosing to run for Senate not only because he wants to serve but also because he doesn’t want to see Tillis keep his seat. His main beef has been Tillis, at least initially, standing against the nomination of Pete Hegseth, someone Brown knows from his appearances on Fox News, for Secretary of Defense.
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“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Brown said.
Brown lives in Union County but grew up near the Outer Banks. He said that traveling across the state to campaign has been an interesting process and could be a bit taxing.
“But when you get to your destination, you’re energized talking to great people all over the state,” he said.
Brown said he considers it an advantage that he’s not “a politician” but admitted that fundraising is a huge task. In addition, he said just staying on top of his schedule and not double-booking can be a challenge. In a large and diverse state like North Carolina, there are several things he could — and maybe even should — attend on a daily basis.
Senate Candidate Don Brown (left) has a conversation with Haywood County GOP Chair Michael Loomis. Kyle Perrotti photo
Standing against someone, such as Tillis this case, is fairly easy, but Brown was also happy to talk about what he stands for, the things he wants to see in national government. Basically, it all boils down to reducing the federal government to its basic constitutional functions — providing a national defense and upholding the Commerce Clause. To do this, Brown believes in abolishing the federal income tax — meaning getting rid of the IRS — and using tariffs to generate revenue.
“If it’s not in the constitution, for example the Department of Education, there’s no role in the federal government for it,” he said.
Nilsson is a retired businessman who used to run plant and factory operations around the world in a variety of industries from concrete to plastics to metal fabrication. After 30 years in that field, 15 of which he owned his own business, Nilsson retired to focus on what he really wanted to do — coach high school football. He is now the defensive line and special teams coach at a school in the Winston-Salem area. In addition, he works with exceptional children at the school.
Senate Candidate Andy Nilsson speaks with voters. Kyle Perrotti photo
Last year, Nilsson ran for a position within the Republican National Committee, saying he hoped to bring “transparency and openness” to the party. He ultimately lost that effort but garnered 40% of the vote, and he said that afterward he was approached by people who thought he could primary Tillis.
He described his reasons for wanting to oppose the state’s senior senator.
“There’s a lack of accountability, lack of transparency and not being true to the voters who put him in,” Nilsson said. “I thought about it and said, ‘I’m a retired businessman; I’ve got time to do it.’ This campaign is about bringing North Carolina the same kind of representation that I remember seeing when I was growing up.”
Nilsson is referring to Jesse Helms, a conservative stalwart who served six terms in the senate and gained notoriety for staunchly opposing a number of progressive movements, including feminism and gay rights.
“Jesse Helms was known across this state for being a straight shooter and always living up to his word and telling people exactly how he was going to vote … so I compared Jesse Helms and Thom Tillis and they were just very different. For Thom Tillis, to me, voting is very situational.”
The filing period to run for Tillis’ Senate seat opens up in December, and the primary will be held in May ahead of the November 2026 General Election.
