Kamala Harris launches radio ad targeting rural North Carolina voters

By Ben Rappaport

benrappaport@borderbelt.org 

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign is launching a radio ad targeted at rural North Carolina voters in an effort to narrow the gap in traditionally red counties. 

In the one-minute ad, titled “Like Us,” vice presidential candidate Tim Walz touts his rural roots. “In a small town, you don’t focus on the politics,” he says. “You focus on taking care of your neighbors and minding your own damn business.” 

The ad, which also highlights the benefits of Medicaid expansion for rural Americans and expresses concern about the conservative Project 2025, will air on more than 120 rural radio stations throughout the state beginning Oct. 15. It hopes to reach 500,000 likely rural voters across the state, including those in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties.

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Rural voters could determine whether Harris or Republican Donald Trump wins North Carolina, a crucial swing state. Trump won North Carolina in 2020 by just 1.3 points, his narrowest margin of victory in that election. 

Harris’ campaign officials say they don’t expect to flip many rural counties blue, but narrowing the gap could help carry Harris and down-ballot Democrats to victory. The campaign opened a field office in Robeson County over the summer to woo rural voters there.

An aggregate of recent polls by FiveThirtyEight shows Harris trailing Trump by one point, within the margin of error, in the state. Cook Political Report recently moved North Carolina from “lean Republican” to a “toss-up,” citing Harris’ ability to energize moderate Democratic voters. 

“Too often, political strategists assume that rural voters only want to talk about agriculture, and while that’s a big and integral part of rural life, these voters are often employed by large public hospitals and school districts,” the Harris campaign said in a statement. “We’re talking to these voters about the contrast in this race.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to email requests for this story. 

A Trump campaign official told NBC News in August that its North Carolina operation includes 65 paid staff, more than 50 aligned campaign offices and more than 150 paid canvassers working for allied organizations.

Trump won nearly every rural North Carolina county in 2020. His slimmest margin of victory was in Scotland County, where he won by 262 votes. 

In the Border Belt counties of Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland, registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters outnumber registered Republicans. The region had among the lowest voter turnout rates in North Carolina in 2020, with none of the four counties exceeding the statewide turnout rate of 75%. Robeson County had the state’s lowest turnout at 62%.

Harris’ campaign is counting on rural voters going to the polls. 

“The Harris-Walz campaign is making a real commitment to rural communities,” said Matthew Hildreth, Harris’ campaign director of rural engagement. “They both understand that rural voters are the foundation of our country, and they want rural voters to know that they have a home in their campaign — that is fundamentally about patriotism, freedom and opportunity.”