North Carolina is the first battleground state to be called.
Former President Donald Trump held four rallies over a three-day stretch in North Carolina leading to Election Day. That emphasis on the battleground state appeared to pay off as he has won North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes, according to The Associated Press, which called the race at 11:19 p.m.
North Carolina is a battleground state that both candidates coveted.
In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democrat presidential candidate to win North Carolina in 30 years. Trump prevailed in 2016 and then edged candidate Joe Biden by 1.3 percent of the vote in 2020.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has served as governor since 2017, campaigned in Raleigh with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday—as did Attorney General Josh Stein, who ran for governor against Republican nominee Mark Robinson. The Associated Press called the race for Stein at 9:15 p.m.
A FiveThirtyEight average of polls on Oct. 30 showed Trump with a slight lead over Harris at 48.3 percent to 47.2 percent.
The western portion of the state was severely impacted by flooding and mudslides from Hurricane Helene, displacing many residents.
The mountains of western North Carolina are considered a Republican stronghold.
The 25 counties that compose the disaster area have 1.3 million registered voters. In 2020, Trump won 604,119 votes to Joe Biden’s 356,902 votes in those counties, according to political analyst Ray Bonifay, who highlighted the importance of the region in an Oct. 18 commentary on RealClearPolitics.
On the eve of Election Day, Trump held a 1.3 percent lead over Harris in the Real Clear Politics average of polls.
Early voting was a key factor in North Carolina’s general election.
In-person early voting started in all 100 counties on Oct. 17 and ended on Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.
The State Board of Elections reported that more than 4.2 million residents cast early voting ballots—a record number.
Turnout in the 25 western North Carolina counties impacted by Hurricane Helene was 58.9 percent—around 2 percent higher than the statewide total, the state board said.
By Jeff Louderback
