With 12 days left until Election Day and little more than a week left in early voting, the presidential campaigns and their surrogates continue to crisscross North Carolina. 

What You Need To Know

  •  More than 2 million voters have cast ballots in North Carolina as of Thursday morning

  •  North Carolina's 16 electoral college votes could help decide who wins the presidential election

  •  There are races for governor, attorney general and other statewide seats on the ballot this year

  •  Every member of the U.S. House and the North Carolina General Assembly is also up for election 

A little more than 2 million voters have already cast ballots in North Carolina through early voting and mail-in voting, according to the State Board of Elections.

North Carolina's status as a purple state means its could be key to who wins the presidential election this year. But there are also closely watched races for governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction.

Every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the North Carolina General Assembly are up for election. There are also hundreds of local races on the ballot.

Early voting turnout so far is higher than four years ago, but the number of mail-in ballots is lower. The 2020 election had higher participation in vote-by-mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is in North Carolina Thursday, making stops in Wilmington, Greenville and Durham. 

Friday is a busy day for the presidential campaigns across the state. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance will be in Raeford and Monroe. 

First lady Jill Biden plans to visit Asheville Friday, where she will meet with local leaders. She will then hold campaign events for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Fayetteville and Cary. 

Former President Barack Obama will also be in North Carolina Friday evening with a campaign event in Charlotte.

Harris and former President Donald Trump have been campaigning hard to win North Carolina's 16 electoral college votes. Trump won North Carolina by less than 1.5 percentage points in 2020.

Obama was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win in North Carolina. That was in 2008. But both campaigns have been investing heavily in the Old North State ahead of Nov. 5.

For more coverage of the issues and the candidates, see Spectrum News 1's Decision 2024 page.