Dems Zoom In On Key State
President Joe Biden's team has high hopes for redemption in North Carolina during the 2024 election. The Tar Heel State leaned towards Donald Trump in 2020 by just 1.4 percentage points, and hasn't been carried by a Democrat since Barack Obama in 2008.
Now, Biden's campaign, the DNC, and top super PACs are aiming to mobilize new and existing voters in order to turn the State blue. They are encouraged by a series of early appearances by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as their investments in the state.
"President Biden and Vice President Harris have a strong record that resonates with North Carolinians and will mobilize the voters we need to win in 2024, including creating thousands of jobs, lowering costs for families, and fighting against MAGA extremist abortion bans," said Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz.
Governor Roy Cooper, a member of Biden's national advisory board, also expressed his support for the president and his plan to flip the state. "I think the road to reelection will run through North Carolina this time," he said. "And we’re encouraged by the [Biden] campaign’s early commitment to our state. It’s pretty clear that they have decided that North Carolina is going to be one of their targeted states ... I told the president that this investment is going to be critical to his reelection, and that I believe we can win this state for him.”
The DNC and campaign have already been running ads in North Carolina, and the DNC has increased its investment to the NC Democratic Party to $12,500 a month, a 25 percent increase from 2020. Top Democratic super PACs are also eyeing North Carolina, though how much money and resources they will pour into the state is still to be determined.
The Biden campaign has come out with a strategy memo, including plans to target the Tar Heel State, and Jackson see the map as different from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s in 2022, with more resources being poured into North Carolina. Biden and Harris have frequented the state in recent months, breaking a tradition in which the Democratic candidate often avoided appearing in the state.
Gordan Dennis, president of American Bridge, said his PAC is running a major advertising program and examining options. Republicans, however, suggest Democrats are lighting money on fire in the state, pointing out that in 2022, the state's Republican-controlled legislature overrode the governor's veto, becoming the latest state to ban the medical procedure.
GOP strategist Jonathan Felts said he'd welcome more Biden-Harris appearances, particularly those focused on the president's economic message. He also added that Biden is unpopular with unaffiliated voters, but that Trump is too, which means it may "be one of the most unpopular presidential contests in American history."
Only when the Biden campaign, DNC and super PACs decide how much money and resources to pour into the state will it be clear just how serious national Democrats are taking North Carolina. For now, though, all eyes are on the Tar Heel State and Democrats are full of optimism.