(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris head to North Carolina Wednesday to share their final arguments with voters in the Tar Heel State during dueling rallies ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump is expected to spotlight the nation’s economy and housing crisis while Harris is anticipated to encourage residents to vote early and keep the enthusiasm surrounding her campaign electric.
As of Monday morning, the race between Trump and Harris remained a toss-up with the former president leading Harris by just 1.4 points, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling.
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Democrats have a chance to flip the Republican-leaning state blue even though North Carolina has voted red in 10 of the last 11 races. Former President Barack Obama won the Tar Heel State in 2008 and was the first Democrat to do so in nearly three decades.
Dead-even presidential race in NC
A dead-heat race and an opportunity for Democrats is leading to dueling rallies on Wednesday as Harris is also expected to stump in North Carolina. The two rallies are scheduled at roughly the same time, just located about an hour from each other.
The Harris campaign said it believes it has the enthusiasm on its side, while Trump’s team said it’s looking to cut through that and solidify Trump’s lead in the battleground state.
North Carolina is one of seven swing states that could sway this year’s election. It’s another state that has seen another record turnout from early voting. Preliminary data reveals about 3.2 million people in the state have already voted, which is over one-third of the state’s registered voters.
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Helene influencing election turnout
A new survey found that Hurricane Helene is also playing a role for some voters as they head to the ballot box. The survey released this week by Elon University found that Helene galvanized them, and many voters were motivated to get out to polling sites in part by the federal response to the state’s widespread damage.
Trump and some Republicans have looked to sow frustration with the response, falsely claiming that nobody from the federal government was helping residents after the storm.
FEMA and the White House pushed back on those comments, reassuring there were boots on the ground helping those affected by Helene.
Still, the poll found that 20% of voters said they were more likely to vote because of Helene.
