On Thursday, North Carolina Young Republicans Vice Chair Chase Gaines plans to be at the White House as President Donald Trump accepts his party’s nomination for reelection.
On Friday, Gaines said he will be back in North Carolina with about 100 volunteers to knock on doors in Greensboro.
“This is when people start to get excited,” Gaines said in an interview with Spectrum News 1, and he hopes the convention will “bring more people out to get active.” He expects Trump’s nomination for a second term will “drive people out to volunteer.”
North Carolina Republicans had hoped for a bigger boost with a full-blown convention in Charlotte, but the coronavirus scuttled those plans. Instead, 336 delegates met to officially nominate Trump Monday and the rest of the festivities will be online and based from Washington D.C.
The president made a surprise visit in Charlotte during the one day of convention business in the Queen City.
Young Democrats in North Carolina also hope to get a boost from the Republican National Convention.
Andrew Viveros, with Democratic youth voting initiative NextGen America, said his group plans to use this week to work the phones and rally young voters for Democratic candidates.
Viveros, who lives in Charlotte, said, “The RNC doesn’t align with the values of young voters.”
“He’s not welcome here,” NextGen’s Rachel Weber said. She and Viveros said they don’t plan to watch any of the convention broadcasts.
County Republican parties in North Carolina are arranging in-person watch parties at homes and businesses around the state.
In Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Republicans have been organizing watch parties for each night of the convention. And the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans are hosting a happy hour meetup from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Trump is expected to speak each night during the convention before he formally accepts the nomination on Thursday night, the final day of the RNC.
The two big political parties have taken different strategies in North Carolina during the coronavirus pandemic. The Democrats have opted to go all virtual and on the phone, with none of the big (or even small) in-person events you’d expect in the months leading up to a presidential election.
NextGen America’s efforts, and the Biden campaign, are all online, much like the Democratic National Convention last week.
The Republicans are still going door-to-door and holding smaller in-person events in North Carolina, party leaders tell Spectrum News 1.
NC GOP says they are taking precautions while knocking on doors by wearing masks and stepping back six feet to talk to people. They are also following the governor’s orders on gatherings by holding smaller get-togethers in outdoor spaces.
The conventions themselves show the divide between Republicans and Democrats over coronavirus safety measures. Republican delegates all met in Charlotte Monday, but Democrats had their delegates meet online and beam into the virtual convention from all around the country.
The GOP is planning more in-person events, including watch parties and an audience at the White House when Trump accepts the nomination Thursday.