Donald Trump Wins North Carolina. Again?
Donald Trump, North Carolina sheriffs, and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson during a speech at the North Carolina Aviation Museum in Asheboro on Aug. 21, 2024. Source: Galen Bacharier via NC Newsline
It is hard for me to adequately articulate the crushing disappointment I felt while watching my home state turn deep red on the TV. The sheer number of “Are you ok?” texts I received after Election Day may offer a glimpse of how much this election meant to me. I am aware that I live within a left-leaning bubble as a Chapel Hill-Carrboro native and now a UNC Chapel Hill student. I held onto a sliver of hope bolstered by my enthusiastic surrounding community and the strangers and friends who displayed Harris-Walz stickers and pins on their water bottles, computers, and backpacks. I hoped that the girl who defiantly wore her Hillary t-shirt after Election Day in 2016 would at last witness her country elect a female president.
My disappointment, however, is not shock. I feared the worst watching the polls right before and on Election Day. The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won North Carolina was in 2008 with Barack Obama’s tight 0.32-point margin of victory. Obama and Jimmy Carter are the only Democrats to win North Carolina’s electoral votes in the last fifty years.
Democratic leaders find themselves wondering what happened not only in North Carolina but in the other six battleground states Donald Trump swept this election cycle. Was it Trump’s expanded voter coalition? Was it that Kamala Harris had a mere 107 days to campaign? Was it because Harris is a woman of color? In the early moments after the election, it is hard to say what handed Trump his decisive victory.
In North Carolina, I suspect Democrats were blindsided by the power and size of the rural electorate. Despite the growing urban centers in North Carolina (such as Charlotte and Raleigh), a third of the North Carolina population is rural. As evidenced by the way the rest of the country voted, the working class did not turn out for Harris the way Democrats hoped. Democrats’ blaring warnings of Trump’s potential to wreck democracy did not resonate with Americans who struggle to pay their bills every day. Arguments about the fragility of reproductive rights and democratic freedoms fall short when voters remain dissatisfied with prices. The Harris campaign did not adequately address the issues most important to Americans, like immigration and the economy.
Despite the failure to flip North Carolina blue for Harris, there were impressive Democratic gains made across the North Carolina Council of State offices. Current Attorney General Josh Stein beat Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson–whose lewd and offensive online comments thrust him further into the national spotlight–in the gubernatorial race. Former Democratic Congressman Jeff Jackson will inherit Josh Stein’s position of attorney general. Mo Green will become the next Superintendent of Public Instruction over Michelle Morrow, who called for Obama’s execution via her social media and participated on January 6th, 2021. Democrats finally broke the GOP supermajority in the state legislature.
Yet, the Democratic Party suffered a humbling loss on the national level. In 2020, Trump won North Carolina over Joe Biden by over 70,000 votes with a 1.3-point lead. Last week, Trump beat Harris by over 150,000 votes with a staggering 3.4-point lead. Even blue stronghold counties like Durham, Wake, and Mecklenburg experienced a slight rightward shift this year.
Trump’s win is deeply upsetting and disheartening. I fear for the future of abortion rights in the US. The president-elect will likely undo Biden’s environmental policy measures in the face of a pressing climate crisis. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, it is clearer than ever that climate change demands immediate action. I worry that Trump will try to bypass fundamental pillars of democracy in taking revenge on political opponents and pursuing immunity for himself. Still, I maintain unwavering faith in the potential for meaningful progress in my home state of North Carolina. The hard work of campus organizations and student organizers paid off in statewide races. North Carolina experienced record early-vote turnout. Regardless of the party in power, higher voter turnout indicates a movement toward a healthier, more engaged electorate. It was an honor to cast my first vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. I will not forget her joy, dignity, or courage any time soon. After a tough loss, she promised to aid in the peaceful transition of power and uphold the fight for freedom that drove her expedited campaign. As Harris said in her concession speech at Howard University on Nov. 6, “Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win.” The fight is not over, and the 2026 midterms are on my mind already.