In this Thursday, March 6, 2014 photo, North Carolina House of Representatives Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, addresses attendees during Wilson County's Republican Convention, held on the campus of Wilson Community College in Wilson, N.C. As one of the architects of the Republican revolution arriving in Raleigh three years ago, Tillis has received both praise and consternation among Republicans during his U.S. Senate campaign. (AP Photo/The Wilson Times, Brad Coville)