North Carolina is the center of national politics through the weekend as the current president and his predecessor travel to the state.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Biden visits Rocky Mount and Fort Liberty on official White House visits Friday 
  • Trump, Pence and DeSantis attend NCGOP Convention in Greensboro 
  • North Carolina expected to be a swing state in 2024 presidential race

 

President Joe Biden is traveling to Rocky Mount and Fort Liberty in North Carolina Friday on official White House visits.

The North Carolina GOP Convention is also underway, with several high-profile 2024 Republican presidential candidates in attendance.

Former President Donald Trump will speak to Republicans Saturday evening in Greensboro.

The last time Trump attended the convention, he shook up the world of politics by throwing a surprise endorsement to a little-known congressman who went on to become Senator Ted Budd.

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While he could choose to make an endorsement in the North Carolina governor’s race this year, more eyes will be on what he has to say about his own election bid.

“He can say, ‘The last time I came down here, I endorsed Ted Budd. I endorsed him early,’” said former RNC Communications Director Doug Heye. “It will be one way for him to make a distinction of what he does versus everyone else in the crowd.”

Also speaking at the event will be Republican presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday evening and former Vice President Mike Pence Saturday afternoon.

Trump is undefeated in the state. He won the 2016 Republican primary and carried North Carolina in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.

And national polls show him far ahead of his nearly dozen Republican opponents this time around.

“You have to go after him, and you can’t depend on other people to do it for you, or hope that talking vaguely around him you’ll get some benefit…you have to take him on directly,” Heye said.

North Carolina’s primary is relatively early next year, before the field thins in a big way, so expect several Republican candidates to make numerous stops.

No Democrat has carried the state in a presidential race since Barack Obama in 2008.

But Biden’s re-election campaign is putting the state on its list of targets.

“We do believe that it’s going to be a battleground state in 2024. Trump only won it by 1%. You have a Democratic governor, and we’ve made early investments in North Carolina,” said Biden Campaign Senior Communications Advisor Elizabeth Alexander.

The Biden campaign named Gov. Roy Cooper and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to its national advisory board and placed an early advertising buy in the state.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is and investing early in North Carolina,” Alexander said.

And while they aren’t official campaign stops, Biden has made several recent trips to the state. His visit to North Carolina is the second in less than three months. In March he traveled to Durham to speak about investments from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the American Rescue Plan.