Christian Smith
(NewsNation) – North Carolina is a top target for both presidential campaigns, won by less than 75,000 votes for former President Donald Trump in 2020. While both campaigns are in close coordination with their respective state parties, they have different plans for success.
President Joe Biden’s campaign says it has opened 11 offices across the state, including in counties like Alamance and Cabarrus that voted for Trump in 2020. By the end of the month, they say they will have 40 paid employees working in those offices.
The Trump campaign, on the other hand, does not yet have offices in the state. Campaign officials say they plan to target non-traditional voters as well as those who have voted for both parties over the years.
Biden-Harris Campaign
The Biden campaign is trying to reach unaffiliated and Republican voters while mobilizing its base in the state.
In the state’s Republican primary, former ambassador Nikki Haley won more than 23% of the vote, proof that a sizable group of voters chose not to vote for Trump when given the opportunity. The Biden campaign has been running ads to reach Haley voters.
The campaign has been running ads in the state since last April, focusing on BlackMedia, Spanish and AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander).
North Carolina Democrats Chairman Anderson Clayton believes the campaign’s initial investment will pay off for its turnout operation.
“In March alone, the state party trained 830 people to know how to knock on doors. And I think if we have so many people coming to do this… we could have armies by October, which is really exciting,” she said.
Biden’s campaign focuses on issues such as abortion and health care in North Carolina.
North Carolina enacted a 12-week abortion ban last summer, and Biden hopes to make that a rallying point to flip the state in November.
Last December, the state expanded Medicaid and has since 450,000 North Carolinians signed up for health care.
Biden praised this as a victory to the Affordable Care Act. Trump has said he would repeal and replace the ACA with something better, although he has not yet offered what the replacement would be.
The campaign also aims to highlight the administration’s work to eliminate student debt, create jobs, support clean energy and facilitate access to broadband, issues the campaign says are vital to rural and disadvantaged North Carolinians.
“While the Biden campaign invests early in North Carolina and meets voters where they are, Donald Trump has no presence in the state and continues to attack the voters he needs to win,” said Dory MacMillan, communications director for the campaign in North Carolina. North Caroline.
Trump Campaign
The Trump campaign and the North Carolina Republican Party are taking a slightly different approach.
“Thirty-seven percent of voters are unaffiliated, about 33% are Democrats and 30% are Republicans. And just from that point of view, you can’t win with just registered Republicans. You have to go out and reach unaffiliated and disaffected Democrats to form a successful statewide coalition,” said Matt Mercer, communications director for the North Carolina Republican Party.
Mercer adds that they would reach non-traditional voters as well as those who may have voted for both parties in the past.
The campaign is recruiting volunteers and training them in person and online, working on “party building which is essential to laying the foundation to win in November.”
At this time, however, there are no offices in the state and no advertisements have aired.
When initially asked if they would announce by mail, television and digital means, a Republican official said: “Probably, yes. It may look different. TV in one area, mail in another, digital – that’s all we plan to do.”
When pressed about whether there would be TV and digital ads, they said: “Yes, absolutely.”
Mercer expects the funds to begin being used after the state convention later this month, but the campaign did not provide further details.
Republicans in North Carolina are banking on the fact that two new RNC co-chairs are from North Carolina. Michael Whatley is the former chairman of the state Republican Party, and Lara Trump was born in Wilmington.
“We are fortunate to have Chairman Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump, who are intimately familiar with what it takes to win the statewide general election in North Carolina and will ensure we have the resources to do so,” Mercer said.
An RNC spokesperson said Republicans plan to focus on inflation in North Carolina. The consumer price index is higher in the South, which means North Carolinians may be feeling the impact of inflation more than other parts of the country.
The RNC spokesperson said Republicans also plan to raise gas prices in North Carolina. Although they are below the national average, they are still ten cents above last year.
“We have paid staff and volunteer-supported field programs in every swing state, including North Carolina, and they are expanding daily,” said Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign.
Impact of the gubernatorial race
Both campaigns believe the gubernatorial race between Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson will help them win electoral contests.
The Biden campaign believes that Robinson — who has a history of making anti-gay and anti-Semitic comments — is a Trump candidate and that the entire slate will be so extreme that it will be too much for voters.
Mercer supports Robinson, believing he is a “bold and outlandish candidate who can really appeal to all voters with his message of lifting the economy.”
Not surprisingly, both parties believe they have a more positive story to tell about their candidates and that the opposition is a drag on the ticket.
