President Donald Trump will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday for a visit that Republicans in the state hope will give Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley a boost in turnout.
On Sept. 4, North Carolina became the first state in the country to send out mail-in ballots for the general election. Its Senate election is widely seen as one of the most competitive races on the map — but Whatley, who formerly chaired the Republican National Committee, has been outraised by his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, and has lagged behind him in polls.
The White House said in a statement that Trump, who is slated to travel to Gastonia, near Charlotte, will deliver remarks focused on “how his Administration is restoring law and order across the country.”
It’s Trump’s first trip to the state since December when he campaigned with Whatley.
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“No one fires up Republicans to get out and vote like President Trump does and his visit is an important part of turning out Republicans to the polls this November,” DJ Griffin, a spokesperson for Whatley, told The Washington Sun.
While a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in the state since 2008, the party has been eager to capitalize on Trump’s low popularity. Trump’s approval rating in North Carolina was at 31% in a September poll from Elon University, yet some Republicans see the president’s visit as a sign that he and the broader party are keeping the seat as a priority.
“The president here generates enthusiasm,” said Jim Burton, a Republican strategist who has worked on races in North Carolina. “It demonstrates to the party and to the party faithful, ‘Hey, they are committed to North Carolina, and they’re going to spend resources here, and the resources that they spend here are going to benefit all the Republicans,’ whether they’re running for Congress, state Legislature, county commission or anything.”
The larger Republican Party has signaled its support for Whatley through spending. No Going Back PAC, which is financially backed by MAGA Inc., has reserved $2.9 million for advertisements against Cooper, and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, announced a $71 million investment earlier this year in support of Whatley.
Trump’s visit follows the Republican Party’s novel midterm convention in Dallas where he urged Republicans to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.”
Kevin Leebrick, a small business owner in North Carolina who isn’t registered with a party but donated to Whatley’s campaign last summer, said he’s “cautiously optimistic that we get [the race] turned around.”
“[Trump] coming to town will help to rally the troops and close the polling gap,” he said.
It’s unclear how many members of the state’s congressional delegation will attend, especially given that Congress will be in session on the day of the event.
Rep. Mark Harris, who represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District, called Trump’s presence in the state “pivotal in rallying the base.”
“There is no doubt his support will help get folks out to the polls and voting,” he said.
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-North Carolina), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, echoed Whatley’s campaign.
“Republicans are more unified and energized than I’ve seen in a long time, and this visit is going to help keep that momentum going into November,” Hudson said.
Trump’s visit will follow a trip to North Carolina on Tuesday by first lady Melania Trump, though hers was focused on encouraging technology and artificial intelligence use in the classroom.
North Carolina is also home to two critical House races. Republican state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom is running against Democrat Jamie Ager in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, a district in the western part of the state that Trump won by about 10 percentage points but Democrats are bullish to flip. Republican Laurie Buckhout is also trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Don Davis in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which gained several Republican-leaning counties in the process of redistricting last fall.
Balkcom’s and Buckhout’s campaigns did not respond to inquiries from The Washington Sun about whether the candidates planned to attend Trump’s event.
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