N.C. House speaker and newly nominated Republican U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis shows up in the latest issue of TIME magazine, serving as the lead item in a story touting victories for the Republican “establishment.”

In the day’s marquee matchup, North Carolina house speaker Thom Tillis won the GOPs Senate nomination, beating a libertarian doctor and a Baptist pastor whose support for the state’s same-sex marriage ban earned accolades from social conservatives. …

… Tillis was buoyed by $10 million in television ads from national groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads, which launched a costly effort to shape the outcome of GOP primary contests. The spending comes just months after Tea Party leaders in Congress forced an unpopular government shutdown that enraged the GOP’s moderate supporters.

“We engaged early and worked closely with other center-right groups to help Tillis,” said American Crossroads president Steven Law.

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