Otherwise uninterested Democratic voters in North Carolina are now feeling a jolt of enthusiasm about heading to the polls in November in the days since Kamala Harris entered the presidential race.
The must-win state is one of seven vital to winning the White House in 2024, and Democrats believe they can flip right-leaning North Carolina to the Democratic Party in this election cycle for the first time since 1976.
After President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Harris, the North Carolina Democratic Party saw its volunteer force increase by 20 percent, the campaign told DailyMail.com.
Kimberly, a rideshare driver and student in Charlotte, said she might go out and vote now that a woman is at the top of the ticket.
“I didn’t vote for Joe or the other candidate,” the 36-year-old told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. “But if Kamala or Michelle (Obama) come forward, maybe I will.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is instilling enthusiasm in North Carolina Democratic voters, but some are still worried about her chances in November
“The country needs to be fed again and women are doing it,” she added.
To underscore the importance of North Carolina to Democrats, the party began deploying staff to the southern state in January, six months earlier than in previous presidential election cycles.
The campaign also noted that its 18 offices in North Carolina plan to double their staff to 100 people in the next two weeks.
But there is also a sense of nervousness among some voters that a black woman might not be able to win.
“Most people I know were a little bit anxious when the announcement was made,” LaKesha Womack, a 46-year-old voter from the Charlotte area, told DailyMail.com. “To combine a black person and a woman into one person was like wondering how the country would react.”
Donald Trump held a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, his first since Vice President Kamala Harris joined the presidential race.
Womack, a strategy director for a business lending and education service, said she is “most nervous” about having Harris on the ticket.
“I was pretty confident that people would vote for President Biden, even if they didn’t like him, just because I think a lot of people knew what was at stake,” she said. “But, you know, just understanding the racial nuances in the country, I think I’m a little bit… and the sexism that exists in this country. I think I’m a little bit anxious, but I’m definitely hopeful.”
But she said her 18-year-old son, who will vote for the first time in November, “definitely” feels more encouraged to vote for Harris, even though he planned to cast his ballot for Biden anyway.
