A Democratic presidential candidate has not won North Carolina since 2008, but Vice President Kamala Harris is looking to flip the state with the help of President Joe Biden‘s ground game.
Harris campaign officials believe their organization will be the key to success in battleground states such as North Carolina. Dan Kanninen, battleground state director for the Harris campaign, told the News & Observer that they have the “infrastructure designed to win a close race” while arguing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign does not.
“We put into place infrastructure early — leadership teams on the ground in February and March, building robust teams throughout the spring, now to the point of having 150 staff in North Carolina that will get much, much bigger before the end of the summer,” Kanninen told the outlet.
“We’re at scale, and building to a greater scale, so that when people start paying much closer attention after the convention and beyond, we’ll have the people, the resources, the volunteers to capitalize on that and drive it, which really matters in a close race,” he added.
Biden’s reelection team had a keen interest in North Carolina, even as his campaign began to crumble. The president’s first major rally after his disastrous June debate was in the state, while Trump went to Virginia, a Democratic-leaning state. Harris will make a trip to North Carolina next week with her yet-to-be-named running mate after several trips there this year.
While the Trump campaign is focused on expanding the map and piercing into the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, he is not taking any chances with North Carolina.
Trump’s campaign spent money on television advertisement placements beginning Thursday in the Tar Heel State, a sign the former president is attempting to shore up support in the state he won in 2016 and 2020. The advertising attack comes as the former president’s campaign seeks to shape the public’s opinion on Harris, weeks after she was unofficially elevated to the top of the Democratic ticket.
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Prior to Biden dropping out, Trump led the president in North Carolina, 47.2%-41.5%, per the RealClearPolitics polling average. A recent Bloomberg-Morning Consult poll showed Trump leading Harris there, 48%-46%.
North Carolina is rated as “lean Republican” by the Cook Political Report.
