Brianna Kraemer
Carolina Journal
North Carolinians will be able to cast their ballots in the 2024 election in just 65 days, and all hands are on deck as campaigns and political parties work tirelessly to convince likely voters that their messaging is best.
Highly contentious state and national races, from the governor’s race to the presidential race, have made North Carolina a spectacle. Crunch time has begun for the NCGOP and the NC Democratic Party, both headquartered in downtown Raleigh.
Early voting begins on October 17, and Election Day is on November 5.
The opposing political organizations are promoting an endless stream of events and preparing for multiple visits from presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in the coming months. Training volunteers, fundraising, and delivering motivating political messages that get voters to the polls is where political energies are focused at this stage of a general election year.
At a GOTV in Raleigh, Republicans talked about their approach to targeting voters by addressing their top issues.
Chairman of the NCGOP, Jason Simmons, told the Carolina Journal that deceptive Democrat policies have left voters disenfranchised, particularly younger Americans who feel starting a family or buying a home are out of reach in the current economy. In conjunction with the RNC, the NCGOP hosts events for Trump Force 47, an engagement program that aims to encourage and mobilize voters, particularly low-propensity voters.
The Trump Force captain training program provides an overview of objectives and resources for volunteers, while other events, such as weekly phone banking and debate watch parties, draw in supporters.
“As you come out of the National Convention, you continue to see more engagement week after week, day after day,” said Simmons. “We’re happy to see this influx and being able to then use their skill sets and their talents to be able to help elect President Trump, but not just him, but all Republicans up and down the ballot.”
Simmons said North Carolinians can expect quite a bit of activity from members of the Trump campaign over the next two and a half months, likely on a regular basis. Trump was in Charlotte about three weeks ago and is scheduled to hold a rally in Asheville on Wednesday. His running mate, JD Vance, was planning to visit last week but canceled due to the weather.
“Data will continue to be a presence that will continue to refine how we’re putting our investments,” said Simmons. “And so as we continue to understand where the electorate is, and being able to identify those voters, is continuing to drive home to them our message and to be able to target them to get out to vote.”
Voter enthusiasm is often emphasized as the most important factor in driving turnout during election time. The parties hope to drive enthusiasm with voter contacts and consistent messaging on the issues those voters care about most.
Just down Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, a focus on elevating enthusiasm is reverberating through staff at the NC Democratic Party headquarters. Democrats are also hitting the ground, promoting Zoom calls with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and continuing visits across North Carolina. Trump’s margin of victory in North Carolina dwindled from 2016 to 2020, a gap Democrats are hoping to close in 2024.
The NC Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment about its ground operations a little over two months from early voting, but its website shows a multitude of virtual and in-person events, ranging from door-knocking to phone banks.
During a Monday interview on MSNBC, NC Democrat Chair Anderson Clayton pointed to changes in North Carolina’s culture and voter rolls, with transplants making up 52% of North Carolina residents. According to Axios, North Carolina has been one of the Harris Campaign’s largest sources of new volunteers, with more than 10,000 people recently signing up.
“We have Democrats that are organizing from Wilkes to Wayne, all the way across North Carolina of this year, in order to make sure that we’re winning up and down the ticket for Democrats everywhere,” said Clayton.
Already, voter registrations are seeing a pre-election boost that will likely gain speed in the coming weeks, according to Dr. Andy Jackson, Director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at Locke. As of Monday, Democrat registrations were up 605, while Republican registrations were up 1,711. Unaffiliated registrations dwarf those numbers nearly every week, meaning the major political parties are also tasked with messaging to independent voters who are less plugged into traditional political circles.
In a new Carolina Journal poll of likely voters, Trump leads Harris 47% to 44%. While Trump’s numbers increased overall, from 43% to 47%, those of his Democratic opponent have increased even more since the last CJ poll in May, going from 38% to 44%, an increase of six percentage points since Biden dropped out of the race.
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