Senators Bridge Polarized Times
October 14, 2025
- Author
- Jay Pfeifer
U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Amy Klobuchar visited Davidson College to share their experiences reaching across the aisle to bridge partisan divides.
Last night, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Amy Klobuchar – a Republican and a Democrat – did what seems to be impossible in contemporary American politics: They talked.
The two joined Davidson College President Doug Hicks ’90 on stage in front of a sold-out Duke Family Performance Hall and showed that they can overcome their differences.
“We are not that far apart ideologically,” Tillis said. “I find that opportunities to work together come from treating people fairly, honestly and respectfully.”
Klobuchar, wearing a red scarf which she half-jokingly said was both inspired by Davidson’s colors and a nod to bipartisanship, was impressed by the broad political representation she saw in the students – and the tight relationships that bound them together.
“I cannot tell you the importance of bringing civil debate back into our politics,” she said. “We need it now more than ever.”
The event, titled "Public Good in a Divisive Time," was sponsored by the President's Office and the just-launched Institute for Public Good. The IPG is dedicated to nurturing ethical leadership, civic engagement, the arts in public life, rigorous policy analysis, and the subject of the panel discussion – deliberation and finding common ground in divisive times.
“We believe students can do big things. We believe in free speech and respectful debate,” said IPG Inaugural Director Chris Marsicano. And the two senators modeled how they find common ground, lead with integrity, and advance the public good.
They don't have a lot in common. Tillis is a Republican from Huntersville, North Carolina, and a former consultant and businessman. Democrat Klobuchar was a prosecutor before being elected the first woman to represent Minnesota in the Senate in 2006.
But both senators have earned reputations for reaching across the aisle. Klobuchar and Tillis have worked together to pass legislation like the Respect for Marriage Act, which provides federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which funds “red flag” laws allowing temporary firearm removal from those who would seek to harm themselves or others.
“Courage isn't standing by yourself and giving a speech,” Klobuchar said. “True courage is standing next to someone you don’t always agree with for the betterment of the country.”
Before the event, Senators Tillis and Klobuchar met student political leaders from across the spectrum at a reception.
Tillis and Klobuchar covered a number of pressing issues like the potential and peril of artificial intelligence, humanitarian aid, immigration and the current government shutdown. The best hope for these complex, rapidly shifting problems lay in the audience that filled the auditorium, Klobuchar said.
“So much of this depends on how we treat each other,” she said. “It’s on all of us. The only way we're going to do this is by all of you teaching the grownups how this is done.”
