HIGH POINT, N.C. — The presidential candidates are making their final efforts to capture North Carolina voters. Both campaigns have been active in the state this week, with recent stops including a town hall in High Point, where former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, spoke alongside Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk.
The U.S. Census reports that 42 million Gen Z voters are eligible to cast ballots this year. The Trump campaign is focused on winning this demographic’s support to help propel Donald Trump and JD Vance to the White House. A key issue they believe will influence Gen Z voters is their promise to improve the economy and reduce housing costs.
"I think younger voters in some ways have the most to lose or the most to gain from getting this election either right or wrong," Vance said.
According to the Federal Reserve, the inflation rate is currently at its lowest since 2021, sitting at 2.1%, though prices remain high for everyday goods. Speaking to a group of around 100 college students, Vance explained that he and Trump will work to make life more affordable for the next generation. Their plan to reduce costs involves increasing U.S. oil drilling.
"That means you reduce regulation on the energy sector, you build pipelines so that we can get energy from one place to another very easily, you make it easier to unleash our great energy economy and you're gonna create a lot of good jobs in the energy sector but you're also gonna make it so Julia, you and your friends pay less when you go to the grocery store, when you go buy clothes or when you go buy a house," Vance said.
However, the Department of Energy states that the Biden-Harris administration is currently purchasing more oil and gas permits and producing more oil than the Trump administration did.
Vance also took aim at Harris' plan to give first time homebuyers $25,000. Acording to a Harris/Walz economic policy campaign document, it would “provide working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are buying their first home up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance, with more generous support for those whose parents did not own a home.”
However, Vance pushed back saying that plan would only raise housing costs.
"If you don't increase the supply of houses and then you continue to allow illegal aliens to compete against American citizens for those houses, what you will necessarily do is you give $25,000 you're going to increase the cost of housing by $25,000," Vance said.
Vance hoped the message stuck with the group of about a hundred young voters in the room. He said high costs of everyday goods would continue under Harris but would end under a Trump-Vance administration. For many of his supporters here, it's working.
"I think after today and after kind of, you know, seeing the scope of where we are and it being kind of, you know, pressed upon us the way it's been, it started to hit me," Dean Winters, Gardner Webb University student said. "This really is a big election, if not the biggest election."
"When Trump is in office, I will feel a lot more confident in the money that I have in the bank and the future and the safety and security of our borders and the country as a whole," Megan McCambridge, a High Point University student added.
Vance trying to convince Gen Z voters this election will shape their future.
"You guys get to make the determination. Are you angry? And are you voting for more of the same ... or are you voting for the real change of Donald J Trump's leadership?"
Stay connected to local, national, and breaking news: Download the WFMY News 2 app.
►Text the word APP to 336-379-5775
MORE WAYS TO GET WFMY NEWS 2
Subscribe to our daily newsletter, Let’s Get 2 It!
Download the WFMY News 2 APP from your Apple or Google Play store.
ADD THE WFMY+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or search for WFMY.
Amazon Fire TV: Search for WFMY to find the free app to add to your account. You can also add the app directly to your Fire TV through your Amazon account.