Trump defeats Harris in battleground state of North Carolina
It’s a three-peat for former President Donald Trump in North Carolina.
The Associated Press called the state for Trump at 11:18 p.m., as unofficial results continued to trickle in from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, and his supporters celebrated.
Once 100% of precincts were reported around 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, unofficial results showed Trump won by more than 3 percentage points.
“This is history tonight,” said Ray Goeckerman, 62, who attended the Wake County GOP’s party. “I don’t know if we’ll ever have another presidential candidate like President Trump in our lifetime or not. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it.”
Republicans had been waiting for this moment all night.
“I think it is tremendous,” said Charles Swanson, 60, who also attended the party at the Courtyard Raleigh Cary Crossroads. “I was expecting North Carolina to go to Trump, but it’s a great confirmation ... The average North Carolinian, just like most of the average people in America, are absolutely sick of the nonsense from the Biden administration.”
The election forecasters at Decision Desk had first called the race just before 9:30 p.m. and that was announced to the room full of Wake County Republicans. Cheers erupted in the crowd of around 50 people dressed in red, white and blue.
The group cheered each update as they mingled, ate hors d’oeuvres and posed for photos in front of a wall of patriotic-colored Trump signs.
Wake County GOP chairwoman Karyn Mulligan said she believes “a worsening quality of life” under the current administration and Hurricane Helene led to Trump’s victory in the state.
Goeckerman said it was the economy and the border that led to his support for Trump.
Swanson said he is against abortion and the “LGBT epidemic.”
Orin Sharp, 29, said he was excited by Trump’s financial policies.
“I think Donald Trump is the man to deliver common sense solutions,” Sharp said. “People are suffering. People want financial freedom. People want financial success. You need a common sense mindset in order to achieve that.”
The Republican National Committee, chaired by North Carolina’s Michael Whatley, released a statement from Whatley congratulating Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
“After four years of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s failed leadership, North Carolinians turned out in droves to restore a strong economy, secure border, and peace through strength under President Trump,” Whatley said in the written statement. “It is clearer than ever: North Carolina is Trump Country!”
Mecklenburg County Democratic Party chairman Drew Kromer addressed a sparse crowd as a celebration at Revelry in Charlotte came to an end.
“Unfortunately the numbers we’re seeing right now are suggesting that not only have we lost North Carolina for Kamala Harris, but things are not looking as good as we might want them to around the rest of the country,” he said.
But even with Harris’ downfall in North Carolina, Kromer reminded the crowd that Democrats had many wins, such as in the races for governor and attorney general.
“At the end of the day we live in a democracy and these fights we have over issues and over how things should be run get fought at the ballot box,” Kromer said. “That in of itself is worth celebrating,”
Hours earlier, Charlotte Mayor Pro-Tem Dante Anderson had expressed excitement about the potential of Harris becoming the first female president.
“It’s something that so many people hadn’t even dreamed of,” Anderson said. “... The possibility of her becoming the very first woman president of these United States, incredible.”
Last-minute campaigning
It’s typical for North Carolina to elect Republican presidents. But the state is still considered a battleground due to the slim margin in the votes between the two candidates each presidential cycle.
In 2020, Trump won North Carolina against President Joe Biden by just 1.3% while losing the election.
And that made Democrats target the state early this election cycle, diverting time, money and resources to the state in order to flip it blue. Gov. Roy Cooper greeted national figures from the Democratic Party so often during the campaign that people joked he should open a second office at the airport.
Trump took an early polling lead over Biden in North Carolina, despite making few appearances of his own. But after a disastrous debate performance in June, Biden ended his campaign in July and immediately endorsed Harris, his then-running mate, to take over his campaign — and things changed dramatically.
Polls showed Harris and Trump locked in a dead heat in North Carolina.
Trump, who also faced two assassination attempts during the campaign, began making frequent appearances in North Carolina as he had done while winning the state in 2016 and 2020.
On Monday, he held his 50th rally in North Carolina since December 2015.
It was the third of four last-minute rallies, in Greensboro, Gastonia, Kinston and ending in Raleigh Monday.
Trump ended up visiting the state 15 times during this election cycle.
Harris came 21 times, ending her campaign blitz on Saturday in Charlotte.
But her surrogates continued to campaign here. Cooper told volunteers going out to canvas on Monday that he continues to have a “2008 feeling” about the election.
“If you remember then, North Carolina voted for Barack Obama and we made history,” Cooper said. “It’s time to make history again.”
Cooper worked with Harris while both served as attorneys general in their respective states.
Their relationship made Cooper a potential contender to serve as Harris’ vice president, a position he quickly turned down, though it’s possible that if Harris wins, Cooper may gain a cabinet position.
Trump’s surrogates continued campaigning, too.
Sen. Ted Budd, a staunch supporter of the former president, spoke before Trump at a rally in Raleigh Monday.
“Is North Carolina Trump country?” Budd asked, met with cheers from the audience.
Going into Tuesday morning, ABC’s 538 showed Trump ahead by just one point in North Carolina.
The candidates’ promises
If elected, Trump has made several promises for what he plans to do.
Among those promises, he says he will:
- close the border;
- use law enforcement and the National Guard to implement mass deportations;
- end America’s reliance on foreign countries for oil and gas;
- end climate and energy policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act;
- put an end to offshore wind energy activity
cut federal funding to schools that teach about transgender issues or critical race theory
no longer tax Social Security income
substitute the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
release people charged for their involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
punish judges and prosecutors involved in Trump’s criminal cases, including firing special prosecutor Jack Smith.
Harris seized on the latter promise, repeatedly telling her supporters that “Trump has an enemies list. I have a to-do list.”
If Harris is elected, she promises to:
- lower the cost of prescription drugs;
- restore federal abortion rights;
- create a federal law banning price gouging on food and groceries;
- create a “Medicare at Home” program that provides aids to people who need health care at home but couldn’t afford it on their own;
- cancel some medical debt through the American Rescue Plan and prevent medical debt from being reported to credit services;
- nominate a Republican to serve in her Cabinet;
- create incentives to start small businesses;
- provide down payments to first-time home buyers.
Both candidates promise to:
- expand the child tax credit;
- stop taxing tips.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Trump defeats Harris in battleground state of North Carolina."