Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has pulled more than $2 million in television advertising across North Carolina while maintaining spending in Raleigh, the only region in the state where polling shows the vice president holding a significant lead over Donald Trump in the election’s final week.
It has critics wondering if Harris’ campaign has decided to surrender the state amid early voting woes.
AdImpact Politics reported Tuesday that Harris’s campaign initially reserved $2.7 million for final-week advertising before canceling most of those buys across major North Carolina markets.
Regional polling explains the strategic shift: Trump leads by 12 points from Charlotte to western North Carolina and by 9 points in coastal areas, while Harris holds a 55%-40% advantage in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Triangle, according to the Carolina Journal poll.
The candidates are tied at 45% in central North Carolina.
Early voting trends heavily favor Republicans, with GOP turnout up by 9,000 voters compared to 2020 while Democratic turnout has dropped by more than 340,000 voters, according to Dr. Andy Jackson of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity.
“Kamala Harris giving up on North Carolina; pulling money out. Maybe to drop in Virginia to try and stop the slide?” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita claimed Tuesday.
Both candidates are campaigning in North Carolina Wednesday, with Harris holding a Raleigh rally while Trump visits Rocky Mount.
Fox News polling shows Trump ahead 49%-47% among likely voters statewide, while Harris leads 48%-47% among registered voters, both within the margin of error.
Trump won North Carolina by a comfortable margin in both 2016 and 2020.