Presidential Election Debate Night in Durham, North Carolina

Martin Burns joined an anxious audience of Kamala Harris supporters for a debate watch party in a swing state the Democrats need to win.

Upbeat but anxious, the audience at the debate watch party in Durham. Photo: Mary Liz Burns

In Presidential contests, North Carolina has been an elusive prize for the Democrats. It is a state that is changing demographically as people move there from other parts of the US, which, combined with its large African American population (roughly 20% according to US Census Bureau), makes North Carolina seem ready to fall into Democratic hands. Yet only Barack Obama in 2008 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 have been able to win the state. In 2020, Trump defeated Biden by just over one percentage point (1.3% to be exact).

If you walk up to almost any Democratic activist in North Carolina and say 1.3%, they will know exactly what you mean. In fishing terms, for Democrats in 2020, North Carolina was the one that got away.

North Carolina is one of seven battleground states – along with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – where either Harris or Trump could win. Presidential elections are won not by the total number of votes cast nationally but rather on a state-by-state basis with each state having an electoral vote total determined by their number of seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.

According to CNN’s exit polling data, in 2020, the pattern of voting in North Carolina was typical of the national trend, with Democrats doing well in urban areas while Republicans dominated rural areas. Biden won 62% of the vote in the Raleigh/Durham area, which is dominated by universities and high-tech firms, and 55% in the Charlotte area which is home to many banks.  Republicans won 54% of the vote in the more rural eastern and western parts of the state.  African American voters in 2020 were overwhelmingly (92%) in the Democratic camp. 

Across the country, the Harris campaign has been encouraging supporters to attend or even host debate watch parties. In a sign of how technology has altered the face of American campaigns, many of these events are being held virtually via zoom. Of course, while the debate is on, supporters are encouraged to take to social media to reinforce debate talking points.  Harris supporters are directed to the X account @KamalaHQ to retweet online contact. 

I attended a debate watch party sponsored by the Durham County North Carolina Democratic organisation and the Harris team. In the United States, both Democrats and Republicans organise at the county level and the state level. Above this is the national Democratic party (the Democratic National Committee – most often referred to as the DNC) and the national Presidential campaign. How all these different levels work together is one of the marvels of American politics.