Post-Debate Poll: Donald Trump Leads Kamala Harris in North Carolina  

Former President Donald Trump holds a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina, a Friday Quantus poll found post-debate.

If Trump wins North Carolina, the Harris campaign would face tremendous pressure to defend Georgia, Arizona, and the rust belt states, especially Pennsylvania.

Republicans have won North Carolina since Barack Obama briefly turned it blue in 2008. President Joe Biden lost by a margin of 1.34 percent in 2020.

Harris campaigned in the Tar Heel State on Thursday. “I actually have the endorsement of 200 Republicans who have formally worked with President Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain including the endorsement of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Congressmember Liz Cheney,” she touted.

The poll found Trump holds a 1.7 percent margin over Harris:

The post-debate poll sampled 815 likely voters in North Carolina from September 11-12, with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

The Washington Post reported on the state of the race in North Carolina:

When Trump’s team has laid out their paths to 270 electoral votes, they have said they might only need to flip two states, Georgia and Pennsylvania — as long as they keep North Carolina. They could replace North Carolina with wins elsewhere, but the math gets tougher.

 …

In some ways, North Carolina resembles other states that have shifted in Democrats’ direction, such as Georgia, said Amy Walter, editor in chief of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which last month moved North Carolina from “leans Republican” to “toss-up.” It has a Black population of more than 20 percent and lots of out-of-state transplants. But there are key differences.

 …

Democrats have increased the pressure on Republicans by booking about $50 million in advertising in the state. Trump’s main super PAC has not made reservations for most of September and October, but Republicans have roughly matched their opponents in ad spending through this weekend, according to AdImpact. Meanwhile, Democrats have sought to capitalize on fresh energy for Harris.

“President Trump’s position in North Carolina is stronger today than it has ever been since 2016,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Post in a statement, predicting Harris “will lose ever more support as more and more North Carolinians understand just how dangerously liberal she is.”

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.