Just a few of months ago as Joe Biden refused to end his re-election bid after his disastrous debate performance Donald Trump was in the driver’s seat in the 2024 Presidential race.
Democrats’ unprecedented coup against the Democrat President has seemingly turned the race on its head giving Kamala Harris a slight edge in recent polling.
But now Republicans in this battleground state are having deja vu as Donald Trump continues to fall behind.
Is 2008 repeating itself in North Carolina?
Despite benefitting from the policies of Republican supermajorities in the state legislature for the better part of the past two decades, that same time span has seen North Carolina become one of the top battleground states in the country when it comes to statewide races.
While a majority of voters in the state have cast ballots for Republican candidates in 12 out of the last 14 Presidential elections and both the state’s current U.S. Senators are Republican, North Carolina has only elected one Republican Governor since 1993, one Republican state Attorney General since 1975, and one Republican Secretary of State since 1877.
And quite frankly, it’s only getting more difficult for the overwhelmingly conservative rural voters in the state to outnumber radical left-wing voters in Raleigh, Durham, and Charlotte on Election Day thanks to the vast number of Yankee transplants who have flocked to North Carolina because of the state’s conservative economic policies only to turn around and continue voting as they did in the Democrat-controlled hellscape they fled.
That reality began to truly set in for the state around 2008, when Republicans took supermajorities in the state House and Senate, only to have former President Barack Obama become the first Democrat Presidential candidate to win North Carolina since former President Jimmy Carter in 1974.
And now, term-limited North Carolina Democrat Governor Roy Cooper and some election analysts believe Vice President Kamala Harris might repeat Obama’s success this November.
“I think there’s going to be a rising up that will end up helping Vice President Harris in this race, from some people who may not have gone to the polls even in a presidential year,” Cooper said during the Democrat National Convention. “I have a 2008 feeling about North Carolina.”
Why would Cooper be so bullish on his Party’s chances this November?
The simplest answer is polling.
Three new polls are out that seem to lend credence to Cooper’s confidence.
A High Point/Survey USA poll found that Kamala leads former President Donald Trump, 46-45, in the state.
The silver lining for Trump is that 9% of NC voters remain either undecided or said they would be voting for a third-party.
That could play to his advantage, given the recent exit and endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But that’s not the only survey showing signs of strength for Biden’s Border Czar.
Trump can’t afford to lose North Carolina
The Vice President holds a 2-point lead over Trump in the most recent NY Times/Siena College poll.
And that survey had Kamala at 49% support, just one-point shy of hitting the pivotal 50% threshold.
And finally, a Fox News survey did find that Trump is leading Kamala in North Carolina.
It even put the Republican nominee at 50%.
However, the Harris-Walz ticket was just a single-point behind at 49%.
In fact, Kamala now trails Trump in North Carolina in the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average by less than a full point.
RCP reported that Trump has held three rallies in the state since late July, and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), was scheduled for two more, but Tropical Storm Debby interfered with those plans.
And while the Trump-Vance team plays defense, the Kamala campaign is pushing on offense.
According to RCP, Kamala unveiled what she calls her “economic plan” – which is really just a continuation of Bidenomics but on steroids – at a Raleigh rally last month.
And like Vance, her Vice Presidential running mate, Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), also had to cancel one scheduled visit to the state due to the weather.
US Political Daily will keep you updated on any developments to this ongoing story.
