RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis is in quarantine, but not showing many symptoms, after testing positive for the coronavirus. His opponent, Democrat Cal Cunningham, is self-quarantining after last week’s debate with the senator.
President Donald Trump, his wife Melania, and others in his inner circle have also tested positive. The president, members of his family and surrogates, had been making frequent appearances in North Carolina until news of the cluster of positive cases around the White House came out last week.
But in North Carolina, the campaigning continues in the tight races for president and the Senate.
Recent polls show Joe Biden and Trump in a statistical dead heat for the state’s 15 Electoral College votes, making North Carolina a key battleground in the presidential election. Some polls give Biden a slight lead in the state.
Those polling numbers mean the campaigns are throwing everything they can to win over undecided voters in North Carolina.
The president had made near-weekly visits to North Carolina since the Republican National Convention in August.
Eric Trump will be in North Carolina Thursday to campaign for his father. A campaign spokesman said they will continue to provide masks and hand sanitizer for attendees.
“People can make their own decisions about their health,” the spokesman said.
Jill Biden, wife of the Democratic nominee, made campaign stops in Greenville and Fayetteville Tuesday. Events for the Biden campaign have been much stricter than the Trump campaign on limiting the number of people, social distancing and requiring masks.“Our campaign has been — and will remain — focused on making sure voters in every corner of North Carolina know that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the team to unite the country, tackle COVID-19 and build back better,” Maya Humes, North Carolina spokeswoman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement.
Trump Campaign Spokesman Gates McGavick said in a statement, “At this point of the campaign, with 28 days to go, our singular focus is on get-out-the-vote efforts. We have had firm health and safety protocols in place for our staff and volunteers since we transitioned back to in-person efforts in June.”
The Democrats have taken a mostly virtual approach to campaigning in North Carolina and across the country, but Biden, Harris and others have been holding small events around the state in recent weeks.
Republicans have faced criticism for holding rallies with Trump and members of his family with little social distancing and many attendees without masks.
Several businesses in Gaston County had to close for cleaning after Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, visited there last week just before her father tested positive for the virus.
"The North Carolina Republican Party will continue to take COVID-19 seriously recommending masks and safety measures at all campaign events. North Carolina is a critical state, and we will continue working to turn out the vote for Republican candidates all across the Old North State." state GOP spokesman Tim Wigginton said.
