OPINION: Can Harris flip North Carolina Blue? Trump’s slim 2020 margin puts state in play

Update: Donald Trump won North Carolina with 50.8% of the vote.

North Carolina is one of the battleground states that may decide this election. Though North Carolina has turned red in the past three elections, Donald Trump won by a slim margin in 2020, meaning the state could easily go to either candidate in this election. In 2008, the state voted for Barack Obama simply because of the state’s African American population. Kamala’s team has taken notice of this and focused on this population. I think it is very well possible that Harris takes this state by a slim margin. A CNN poll reported around 67% of Harris voters in North Carolina say that they are voting for her in opposition to Trump instead of in support of her policies. 

North Carolina voters also voted for governor. Though Josh Stein won the state, Trump-endorsed Mark Robinson has been the subject of harsh criticism because of past comments including denying the holocaust, calling the LGBTQ+ community “filth”, pushing conspiracies and claiming that women do not belong in leadership positions. Trump’s endorsement could cost Trump the state because of his offensive comments.

North Carolina was the only swing state Trump won in 2020. If Kamala Harris wins the state, it will make the path to the White House much harder for him. The state's 16 electoral votes puts it in one of the top 10 states. States usually lean red as the first votes are counted. This is because smaller, rural counties—typically Republican—have fewer votes to process and can report their counts earlier. As a result, we may initially see Trump in the lead in the state. In addition to this, North Carolina votes are taking longer to count because the state is still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene.