RALEIGH, N.C. — Razor-thin polls have Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump and their running mates blitzing swing states, with an emphasis on North Carolina.
More than 350,000 people voted on the first day of early voting in North Carolina, a new record for the state. That could signify just how important voters view this election.
WFMY News 2's Joseph Leonard spoke to political science expert Jason Husser about how he sees things playing out come November 5. Right now, he said it is still unclear how the race will go.
Husser is the director of the Elon University Poll, which said the race in North Carolina was "too close to call" in its latest update in late September.
"We could be seeing early voting higher because of people's memories of difficulties with the 2020 cycle," Husser said. "Or we might be seeing a groundswell of support for one candidate or another."
Regardless, the eyes of the political world have been fixated on North Carolina. Trump has four events here this week, including one in Greensboro on Tuesday. Governor Tim Walz was in North Carolina twice last week campaigning for Harris, who was last here herself on Oct. 13 for an event in Greenville.
"North Carolina could come down to just a few thousand votes," Husser said. "And if so, either of those campaigns would be kicking themselves for not spending more time in the state after Clinton lost some midwestern states in 2016. A lot of people blamed Clinton a great deal because they said she should have spent more time there."
Husser said Hurricane Helene's impact on western North Carolina could prove crucial to which candidate wins the state.
Trump has tried placing blame on Harris for not doing enough to help those in need.
"Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars on housing illegal migrants," Trump said at a campaign event recently.
Husser said many of the counties in western North Carolina are heavily Republican. Getting those voters to the polls could be the deciding factor.
"Generally when things are bad, people are mad at incumbents, and we are in a situation where in that region, things are very bad and people had very bad experiences," Husser said. "Will they be focused on voting when they're still dealing with really catastrophic, life-altering events that happened to them?"
Polling averages from FiveThirtyEight show Harris with a slight edge nationally. Those same numbers found Trump with less than a point lead in North Carolina.
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