The Biggest Question in North Carolina: Can Democrats Win?
“The race for North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes remains incredibly close. The New York Times polling average shows Mr. Trump up by one point, well within the margin of error.
“It’s been frustrating to not know for months: Who are we as a state?” said Jerry Sholar, a 63-year-old carpenter in the coastal city of Wilmington. Mr. Sholar, a Republican, said he had rarely voted until Mr. Trump came along and reshaped American politics.
The tailwinds, Democrats argue, are theirs. Since 2020, when Mr. Trump won the state by 1.3 percentage points, North Carolina has grown by about 400,000 residents. Its suburbs have become more diverse. Record-breaking amounts of money have poured into the state to help Ms. Harris and other Democrats. The Harris campaign also has a strong presence on the ground, with 29 field offices and 350 staff members in the state.
Mr. Trump has not been helped by two extremist Republicans running for state office: Mark Robinson, the current lieutenant governor and Republican nominee for governor, has a well-documented history of inflammatory and offensive remarks. Michelle Morrow, the nominee for public schools superintendent, once called for executing Mr. Obama.
about:blank
“If not now, when? I guess that would be the question for Democrats,” said Christopher A. Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C. “If they can’t, it would be the fourth time in a row that they are like Charlie Brown going to kick the football and coming up empty.”
Bolstered by reliable rural voters, Republicans believe Democrats will miss again. “Unless they have a statewide message, or a generational historic talent like Obama, Democrats ain’t gonna win in N.C.,” said Jonathan Felts, a Republican consultant.”
North Carolina is making the Trump campaign nervous
“With just three days until the election, former President Donald Trump’s campaign remains unsettled about his prospects in North Carolina, a Sun Belt state that he’s claimed in two consecutive presidential elections.
When asked why, a Trump campaign official put it bluntly.
“If there’s one state that could bite you in the a–, it’s North Carolina,” the official said.
At the same time, Vice President Kamala Harris’ team, which less than two weeks ago feared the Tar Heel State was “a little bit slipping away,” is now seeing it as “very much in play,” a senior campaign official said.
Their dueling outlooks emerged as both campaigns landed in North Carolina, with the candidates rallying voters in a margin-of-error contest that’s raising the stakes in every battleground.”