Capitalizing on her strong debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in North Carolina on Thursday, beaming with confidence that Democrats could flip the swing state.
Ms. Harris held rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro, showing that her campaign believes the state is in play. Ms. Harris leads Mr. Trump by three percentage points (49% to 46%) in North Carolina with Green Party candidate Jill Stein getting 1% of the vote, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this week.
She called for another debate against the GOP nominee.
“Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate, and I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate because this election and what is at stake could not be more important,” Ms. Harris told supporters.
Earlier Thursday, Mr. Trump said on social media that he would not participate in another debate with Ms. Harris, insisting he won Tuesday night’s face-off.
Ms. Harris spent most of her remarks in Charlotte hammering Mr. Trump’s debate performance. She emphasized one of the former president’s biggest debate stumbles when he said he only had the “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act.
“He has no plan to replace it. He said ’concepts of a plan.’ You all watched the debate? No actual plan, concepts. 45 million are insured through the ACA and he’s going to end it based on a concept,” she said.
In 2020, Mr. Trump won North Carolina over President Biden by less than two percentage points. The state’s electorate remains narrowly divided, with Republicans dominating the state’s rural conservative areas, which covers most of the state.
A Democrat has not won North Carolina since 2008.
But Ms. Harris’s debate performance and polls showing she’s ahead in the Tar Heel state have fueled Democrats’ excitement that North Carolina will be in the Blue column in November.
Thursday’s trip marks Ms. Harris’ ninth visit to North Carolina. The Democratic Party has opened more than a dozen campaign offices in the state to bolster the chances of Ms. Harris as well as down-ballot candidates.
“Are we going to do this North Carolina?” she asked the raucous crowd.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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