(GREENSBORO, N.C.) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances in the crucial battleground state of North Carolina are “excellent,” because of her momentum following the ABC News debate as well as the governor’s race.
“Her chances are excellent, and most people have North Carolina as a toss-up state,” Cooper said in an interview with ABC News at Harris’ rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday.
Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, and no Democrat has won the state in a presidential race since former President Barak Obama in 2008. Democrats now believe the state is back in play with Harris at the top of the ticket, as she generates more enthusiasm with young voters and voters of color.
Cooper also said that Harris’ performance at the ABC News debate earlier this week moved the needle with voters more than usual because she’s still introducing herself to the American people.
“We know that debates oftentimes don’t make that big a difference. I think it made a difference here because a lot of people didn’t really know Kamala Harris that well, and they got a chance to see her in action for an hour and a half,” he said.
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that 28% of likely voters said they feel they need to still learn more about Harris, while only 9% of likely voters felt that way about Trump.
Harris appears to be benefiting from some momentum after the debate, which could help her in some key battleground states like North Carolina.
538 has collected three national polls and one swing-state poll that were conducted since the debate. In all of them, more people who watched the debate said Harris won the debate than said Trump did. On average, 57% of debate watchers nationally said Harris turned in the better performance; only 34% said Trump did.
Cooper said another thing that helps Harris in the state is the governor’s race — presumably as people come out to vote against the controversial Republican candidate.
“I think this will be a bottom-up race. I think the governor’s race in North Carolina will help Kamala Harris,” he said.
The North Carolina gubernatorial race to take over for term-limited Cooper is a competitive and closely watched race. In it, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, is taking on Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Cooper called Robinson — a controversial candidate with a record of attacking women, Muslims and the LGBTQ community as well as amplifying conspiracy theories and extreme views against abortion — an “extreme right-wing candidate” that he said will “drag Donald Trump down.”
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