Donald Trump has won the critical swing state of North Carolina and its 16 Electoral College votes in a pivotal moment in the election.
The Tar Heel state was a key target for both campaigns and was the scene of frenzied campaigning, with Trump making stops there in each of the last three days of the race.
In a major boost to the Republican it was the first of the seven swing states, that will ultimately decide the election, to be decided.
Harris’ campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon told staff in a memo that, after losing North Carolina, the ‘blue wall’ northern industrial states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were now the Democrat’s ‘clearest path’ to victory.
A Democrat presidential candidate has not claimed victory in North Carolina since Barack Obama in 2008. Trump won it in the last two elections.
More than 4.2 million North Carolinians voted early before Election day, breaking the record turnout in 2020.
Donald Trump has won the critical swing state of North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes in a pivotal moment in the election
A woman votes during the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day, in Arden, North Carolina
Turnout in some western counties hit by Hurricane Helene even outpaced the rest of the state as election officials made sure victims could cast their ballots.
Exit polls found 43 percent of voters in North Carolina had a favorable view of Trump, down from 47 percent in the 2020 election.
It found 55 percent viewed him unfavorably, compared with 51 percent in 2020.
The poll also found 48 percent of voters in the state had a favorable view of Harris, compared with 50 percent who said the same of Joe Biden in the 2020 exit poll.
It found 50 percent viewed her unfavorably, compared with 47 percent who viewed Biden that way in 2020.
n election worker shows “I Voted” stickers, during the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day, in Arden, North Carolina
The poll found 36 percent of voters in North Carolina said the economy mattered most in deciding how to vote in the presidential election.
And 12 percent said immigration, 13 percent abortion, 32 percent the state of democracy, and 4 percent foreign policy.
In the state 47 percent of voters said their family’s financial situation was worse than it was four years ago.
Of North Carolina voters 73 percent said they think democracy in the U.S. is threatened.
Voting signs direct people to Biltmore Forest Town Hall on November 5, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina
Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she talks on the phone at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters during the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day in Washington
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by former U.S. first lady Melania Trump, speaks to reporters after voting at Mandel Recreation Center on Election Day in Palm Beach, Florida
The number of voters with a college degree was up.
And 52 percent of voters were women, down from 56 percent in 2020.
The exit poll found 69 percent of voters in North Carolina were white, up four points from 2020.
The percentage of white men was up five points.
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