With the amount of attention being paid to North Carolina from both major party presidential campaigns, it’s clear the Tar Heel state will remain in the spotlight leading up to Election Day.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both made multiple stops in North Carolina as they campaign to be President of the United States.
Now, the nominees for Vice President are campaigning for the state’s 15 electoral votes.
“North Carolina is a must-have state in the Republican coalition of states,” associate professor of the practice at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy Mac McCorkle said. “It is an important state for Democrats because Democrats can basically steal it.”
Listen below to the full story with Duke’s Mac McCorkle:
McCorkle, who is a former Democratic strategist, said Barack Obama in 2008 was the only Democratic Presidential Candidate to win North Carolina since Jimmy Carter.
But McCorkle said he expects the Clinton campaign to continue targeting North Carolina going forward because that would “narrow the path to victory for Trump dramatically.”
He added that the Clinton campaign likely sees benefits to spending so much time in North Carolina, even if the state ultimately votes Trump.
“It’s like a war, [Trump] can’t go on the offensive other places because they’ve got to play defense here.”
Both candidates for governor in North Carolina – Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper and the incumbent Republican Governor Pat McCrory – have appeared at campaign events for their party’s presidential candidate this election cycle. McCorkle said that is a change from past years when North Carolina Democrats tended to distance themselves from national candidates.
“The shoe is on the other foot,” McCorkle said. “I get some relief and pleasure watching the Republicans struggle like we did about…‘What will you do about the top of the ticket?’”
McCorkle said more Americans, including North Carolinians, are turning to voting against a candidate rather than voting out of pure support for a candidate.
“This is where American politics has been heading in the last decade,” McCorkle said. “And maybe something will break this year. But if the trends seem to be intensifying, that’s what you’re going to see.
“There’s going to be way less individualistic voting for the candidates and way more straight-ticket.”
The political divide extends beyond the presidential race in North Carolina. Nearly every statewide race shows an almost 50-50 divide between Republican and Democratic candidates.
But McCorkle said everything is different this time around with Trump as the Republican nominee. He added that McCrory embracing Trump as the Republican candidate, coupled with the national attention North Carolina and McCrory have received over North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2, may ultimately hurt the incumbent in his re-election bid.
“For an incumbent Republican who wants to paint himself as a steady, moderate hand, HB2 plus Donald Trump spells bad news.”
With less than 100 days to go until Election Day, it is likely the spotlight will only intensify on North Carolina.
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