Local candidates see surge from presidential race

Two of Western North Carolina’s political parties received a shot of electoral adrenaline this summer.

Democrats were hit with a wave of enthusiasm when Vice President Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president after President Joe Biden dropped out July 21. 

“This hasn’t happened in young people’s lifetimes,” says Brenden Hipps, president of Buncombe Young Democrats. “As things developed, it became clear that we have a chance to not only elect the first woman and first Black woman as president, but also an exciting and dynamic candidate that appeals to young people.”

Meanwhile, local Republicans had an infusion of energy provided by former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in downtown Asheville on Aug. 14.

“It’s like this,” emailed Buncombe County GOP Chair Doug Brown five days after the rally. “You have a baseball team, and no one goes to the games. Suddenly, your team gets a player who has performance, the values, the chutzpah that attracts the fans. Thousands show up.  They meet other fans. They find out they are not the only one who loves the sport and who believes in the home team. It’s refreshing.” 

Local Republican campaigns say the rally continued a rising trend of volunteers and support, though specific numbers were not provided to Xpress. 

Figures that are available show an upsurge in volunteers, donations and registered voters for Buncombe County Democrats. Whether these increases can be attributed to the change in the presidential candidate and whether it will affect local races in November remains up for debate. 

By the numbers 

The week before Biden withdrew, the Buncombe County Democratic Party headquarters fielded 27 volunteer inquiries, says Chair Kathie Kline. The next week, when Harris became the presumptive nominee, the office was flooded with 144 volunteers.

“We’ve [been] ranging from 60-85 new volunteers weekly since,” Kline says.

Dana Stephenson, campaign manager for Democrat Caleb Rudow, who is running to unseat U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards in District 11, writes in an email to Xpress that fundraising has surged since Harris’ announcement. 

“From Jan.1, our daily [fundraising] average was around $1,200 to $1,500 a day,” Stephenson writes. “After Kamala was announced as the candidate, our numbers jumped to roughly $2,000 a day.” The fundraising figures have stayed in that range ever since, she adds.

Similarly, Democratic state Rep. Eric Ager, who is running for reelection against Republican challenger Sherry Moore Higgins in District 114, says he’s seen a 25% jump in funding since the switch to Harris. 

“A canvassing event for our campaign on Sunday, Aug. 11, drew five times the number of canvassers than we’ve had at any point so far,” Ager says.  

Meanwhile, new voter registration numbers available from Buncombe County Election Services show an upswing of registered Democrats in the past few months. In the two-week period of June 1-16, before Biden’s disastrous debate with Trump, compared with the two weeks of Aug. 1-16, with Harris as the candidate, Democratic voter registrations rose from 159 to 301, climbing 89%, while newly registered Republicans rose 18% from 103 to 122. Unaffiliated voters, the bulk of county voters, rose 12% from 400 to 448.

“In 2024, all politics is national,” says Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “The uptick in new registrants in Buncombe County follows trends statewide and nationally. The Kamala Harris campaign has found a way to translate excitement into something more tangible.”  

Eyes on local 

On the Republican side, most local candidates say the switch at the top of the Democratic ticket has not affected them. 

“With Kamala coming in, I think that it has energized the left, but I don’t think it’s motivated the [Democratic Party] moderates at all,” says Kristie Sluder, who is running against Democratic incumbent District 49 Sen. Julie Mayfield. 

Aubrey Woodard, political director of Edwards’ reelection campaign, echoes Sluder’s sentiment. “The name change at the top of the national Democratic ticket represents nothing more than a continuation of the failed economic, diplomatic and national security policies of the Biden administration,” he writes in an email to Xpress. 

For Buncombe County GOP Chair Brown, the national race is not of concern. “Buncombe GOP is local: local candidates; local issues; local results for local folks,” he writes about possible downstream impacts from the Harris campaign.

Higgins, who is challenging Ager in District 114, shares Brown’s perspective.  “We know that the presidential election is a big deal, and it’s important to a lot of people, but for us, the people that are running, it’s [on] our personal campaigns that we’re focused.”

Energetic on both sides 

While WNC candidates are focused on their races, local enthusiasm was on full display at Trump’s Aug. 14 rally.

Thousands of Trump supporters wound down Haywood Street and around downtown as they hoped to see the Republican nominee speak to a capacity crowd in the 2,055-seat Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. There were another 3,000 people who didn’t get in, estimates the City of Asheville’s Department of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities.

Trump’s speech followed remarks by Edwards, U.S. Sen. Ted Budd and Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.

The crowd outside the venue ranged from 20-year-old Sarah Swangin from Fletcher, attending her first political event, to 66-year-old Kyle Lorton from Candler.

When asked if he volunteered for Trump’s campaign, Lorton said, “I’m involved now in Buncombe County to help Mark Robinson get elected governor, coordinating resources, trying to gather people and calling [on the phone].”

He believes Harris’ entry into the election has not changed the nature of the campaign. “It’s always been very competitive, whether it’s Biden or Harris,” Lorton said. “No real change.”

Vicky Wilson, 61, from Mars Hill, said the switch to Harris didn’t make the race more competitive. “I think more people were for Biden actually, because they weren’t ready for Harris. [Harris] has more liberal views than he had.”

Joe Johnson said it’s not looking good for Harris, despite polls showing Harris closing the gap or passing Trump in seven swing states, including North Carolina.

Of 10 Trump supporters Xpress interviewed, three were energized enough by the tightening race to donate to Republican campaigns, either Trump or Robinson. Five have volunteered for those races and three signed up as poll watchers.

Replying to an Xpress email, Woodard, political director for Edwards, writes that the congressman’s reelection campaign has consistently seen increases in new volunteers, donations and especially enthusiasm. Since Trump’s appearance in Asheville, he adds, the totals in all three categories have accelerated.

Meanwhile, Sluder is optimistic about the impact of Trump’s rally. “I absolutely think [the rally] made the races more competitive,” she says. “It encouraged the base.”

But Sluder’s opponent, Sen. Mayfield, seems less concerned, at least regarding her race. Running in a solidly blue district, Mayfield is focusing on contests other than her own.  

“I don’t really spend time or resources campaigning for myself,” she says. “I haven’t been recruiting volunteers. I haven’t been organizing canvasses and phone banks. What I spend my time on is raising money for other Senate candidates in tighter races in other parts of the state.”

Mayfield’s goal, she continues, is to break the Republican’s supermajority in the General Assembly. 

Although Mayfield notes that she’s had a few fruitful fundraisers, she can’t confirm that their success is due to Harris’ popularity. Nevertheless, Mayfield notes an upbeat vibe permeating the Democratic Party.

“Everybody is happy,” Mayfield says. “The excitement is through the roof.”

Time will tell whether that enthusiasm — on both sides — endures until Election Day, Nov. 5.