North Carolina is shaping up to be one of the most competitive battlegrounds in the race for president.

What You Need To Know

  • North Carolina is a battleground state in November

  • Third-party and write-in candidates could have a major impact

  • Candidates include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein and Cornel West

While a Democrat hasn’t won the state since 2008, the difference between first and second place is typically within just a couple percentage points.

The number of third-party candidates this year could be a major factor.

“Those votes that go to third parties or write-in candidates could have a monumental impact in a state like North Carolina,” Catawba College Politics Professor Michael Bitzer said.

One of those candidates is Robert F Kennedy Jr., the eldest son of RFK, who was assassinated during his own run for president in 1968. 

Last month his campaign announced it had signatures to qualify to get a new party, We The People, on North Carolina’s ballot. Kennedy is running as a We The People candidate.

It’s not a done deal that he’ll be on the ballot, but he could siphon votes from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The question is who he hurts more.

“He could potentially pull from both sides. The question is how much influence, and who does he pull from come November’s general election,” Bitzer said.

Realizing that, outside organizations like MoveOn, which supports Biden, will be targeting Kennedy, including with advertising dollars.

“It’s incredibly important that we get to work now campaigning against Robert Kennedy. And it takes a village, so we’re going to do our work on the outside,” MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting said.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Justice For All candidate Cornel West also could hurt Biden more than Trump. Although they haven’t submitted the necessary signatures yet to get on the ballot in North Carolina, even as write-in candidates, they could be a spoiler for Biden in the state.

Recently though Biden did get a win when it comes to who’s not running.

“I thought we had a good shot at actually winning the presidential campaign if we could find the right candidates. The problem was we couldn’t get the right candidates to commit,” former N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory said.

McCrory stepped down in March as the co-chair of No Labels. 

The group, marketing itself as a place for centrists upset with Biden and Trump, announced after he left it would not field a candidate.

Now McCrory said those voters are now left without a home.

"You've got this group that's kind of the old silent majority that has no home to go to," McCrory said.