At an event with Gwen Walz and Doug Emhoff, it’s clear why Democrats think they can finally win North Carolina

North Carolina loves nail-biters, whether it’s the showdowns between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils in basketball or in presidential races.

“Elections in North Carolina are always close, always close,” Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general and the Democratic nominee for governor told a crowd in Raleigh ahead of introducing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, the wife of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, on Monday. But, he added, that means the state has a chance to determine who goes to the White House.

Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’s campaigns are making a serious play for North Carolina. The non-partisan Cook Political Report rates the Tar Heel state as a toss-up.

Prior to President Joe Biden stepping aside, Harris regularly traveled the state. When she moved to the top of the ticket, she briefly considered making the state’s term-limited Governor Roy Cooper her running mate — before he bowed out. And two days after this week’s debate, Harris will head to Charlotte.

For his part, one of Trump’s first stops after he was indicted in June of last year was at the North Carolina GOP’s convention. He also made the state party chairman the head of the Republican National Convention, alongside his daughter Lara Trump, who is from Wilmington. And last Friday, Trump addressed the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union, after it endorsed him in Charlotte.

North Carolina has proven elusive for Democrats ever since Barack Obama won the state in 2008. Mittt Romney won it by a little more than 2 points. Trump won it by 3.6 points. Biden cut into Trump’s margin of victory in 2020, but nonetheless lost it.

But Democrats think this might be the moment for a Cinderella