A new poll shows Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump in an extremely tight race in North Carolina as both candidates swing through the state this week.

It appears to be the first polling giving the vice president a slight edge in the state that the Republican ex-president won in both 2016 and 2020.

The Cook Political Report poll showed the candidates in a statistical tie with Harris at 48 percent and Trump at 47 percent among likely voters in the Tar Heel State with less than three months to go before the election.

Other recent polling out of North Carolina showed Trump leading in the state, but multiple polls now show Harris making gains across battleground states since she took over the top of the Democratic presidential ticket with President Biden’s exit on July 21.

Poll conducted by BSG and GS Strategy Group July 26-Aug 2

 Every poll out of the swing state before Biden exited the race showed Trump leading. The Real Clear Politics average had Trump up in North Carolina over Biden by more than five points.

The new polling out of North Carolina comes as Trump visited the swing state on Wednesday with an event in Asheville. It was billed as speech focused on the economy.

Former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Asheville, NC on August 14, 2024

Trump supporters in attendance for Trump’s Asheville event on August 14 where he was set to speak about the economy

Harris is set to visit the state for the first time as the Democratic presidential nominee on Friday where she will give her first policy address on the economy in Raleigh.

She was initially planning to hold a rally there with her running mate Tim Walz a week ago, but the event had to be canceled due to the weather.

The polling found that when it comes to the issues, voters in the North Carolina were more likely to trust Harris when it comes to dealing with health care, abortion, protecting democracy and protecting Social Security and Medicare.

Voters in North Carolina were more likely to trust Trump when it comes to dealing with the economy and inflation, crime and foreign policy.

 

Kamala Harris in North Carolina on July 11 before President Biden exited the race. She is set to return to the state to deliver an economic policy address on Friday

Democrats have not won North Carolina in a presidential race since President Obama carried the state in 2008 but he narrowly lost it to Mitt Romney in 2012.

However, North Carolina has been known for a mixed ticket. It currently has Democratic Governor Roy Cooper who won in 2016 and 2020 even as Trump won at the top of the ticket.

In 2020, President Biden lost North Carolina to Trump by less than 1.5 points or just under 75,000 votes even though he won the presidency.

But Democrats see the state as a potential pick-up opportunity in 2024 and have been investing both staff and ad spending in it.

Despite the close polling out this week, Cook Political Report rates North Carolina with its sixteen electoral votes as ‘lean Republican.’

The Cook Political Report polling also had Harris up in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  Trump had an edge in Nevada. It showed the race tied 48-48 in Georgia.