With NC a tossup, Biden running mate Harris makes case against Trump in Charlotte

Sounding like the prosecutor she used to be, Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris told a Charlotte rally Wednesday night that President Donald Trump had failed to lead and protect the American people.

Now, Harris said, it’s time for North Carolinians to do their part by voting him out.

Harris, standing on the roof of the third-base dugout at Truist Field in uptown Charlotte, cited the more than 222,000 Americans who have died this year from COVID-19 — many of them spending their last days alone in a hospital.

“Remember, the president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the United States and is supposed to have as his first priority the health and well-being of the American people,” she said. “And that’s why he’s got to go.”

The California senator and former state attorney general also charged Trump with being absent when it comes to climate change, and with coddling white supremacists.

“We are in the midst of so much that demands true leadership. That’s why we’re about to elect Joe Biden,” she said.

She spoke in front of a mask-wearing, socially-distanced crowd. The Biden-Harris campaign limited attendance to about 150 people to comply with North Carolina’s pandemic-related restrictions.

Earlier in the day, she campaigned in Asheville.

With new polls forecasting a neck-and-neck race for the state’s 15 electoral votes, Harris and several warm-up speakers — including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and Democratic U.S. Rep. Alma Adams — urged those in the crowd not only to vote early but to also take family, friends, neighbors and others to the polls.

Harris said efforts by Trump and other Republicans to raise suspicions about mail-in ballots, limit the number of drop boxes “and mess with the Post Office” could ultimately suppress the vote and maintain the status quo.

“They know our power when we vote,” she said near the end of her 15-plus minute speech. “When we vote, things change. When we vote, we win.”

About the same time Harris appeared in Charlotte, Trump held his own campaign rally in Gastonia at the airport there, his seventh trip to the state since speaking to Republican convention delegates in Charlotte on Aug. 24. Trump criticized Biden in front of thousands of supporters, issuing a warning about the dire future of the country if Trump isn’t re-elected.

Increasing voter turnout

Lyles gave a get-out-the-vote speech before Harris spoke. In 2016, she said, 67% of the mainly Democratic city’s voters cast ballots in the presidential election. But those in the mostly Republican counties surrounding Charlotte exceeded 70%, she said.

“So you think about what you can do — the (country’s) 15th largest city ... to get to 70%, 80%, 90%,” she said.

So far, more than 2.4 million North Carolinians already have voted, and early voting polling stations will be open through Oct. 31 in the state. In Mecklenburg County, 34% of registered voters have cast ballots at early voting sites or through absentee ballots as of Thursday morning, according to the N.C. Board of Elections.

Some in the crowd of mostly campaign volunteers and public officials said they’d come to see Harris, the first woman of color to be named to a major party ticket.

Stephanie Collins-Frempong, an American history teacher at West Charlotte High School, brought her 10-year-old daughter, Abigail.

“It makes me feel very special to have my daughter here to witness history,” she said. “This is what we’ve been waiting for for so many years. ... Possibly one day, she’ll be the president of the United States.”

Collins-Frempomg, 46, said she appreciated the Biden-Harris campaign’s decision to limit the crowd and insist on mask-wearing and social distancing.

“It makes me feel better because my family will be safe,” she said.

Outreach to Black voters

The Biden-Harris campaign is making a particular effort to turn out African-American voters. In North Carolina, which has a larger percentage of Black residents than any of the other six main battleground states, Democrats need African-American voters to turn out at near Obama-era levels to beat Trump in the state.

That includes young Black voters.

So Harris’ first stop in Charlotte was at Social Status, a Plaza Midwood shoe and apparel store, where owner James Whitner says he’s trying to not just sell sneakers, but to persuade his young Black customers “how important all elections are.”

He told reporters covering Harris that he’s about to release a new line of limited edition Converse sneakers. They’re designed by New York-based artist Nina Chanel Abney and backed by local Historically Black Colleges and Universities to capture the energy of youth culture and “push the idea of voting and connectivity.”

Upon entering the popular store on Central Avenue, Harris, known for her affinity for Converse shoes, quickly took notice of the wall of white sneakers.

“You did this,” said Harris, wearing white sneakers and a black mask.

She admired the shoes etched with the year “2020” and decked with buttons that say, “Vote” and “Black Lives Matter.”

A stop in Asheville

Harris’ first stop Wednesday was in Asheville, where she was asked if she and Biden need North Carolina to win.

“We need North Carolina and that’s why I’m here, that’s why he’s been here,” she told reporters. “The people of North Carolina are very much going to be a very big part of deciding this election, so we’re here to encourage the vote,” Harris said. “Vote early. But also we’ve been here to listen to folks because we know the people of North Carolina want the kind of support they deserve from their president.”

An ABC/Washington Post poll released Tuesday had Biden ahead of Trump, 49% to 48%, essentially a tie. A poll conducted by East Carolina University in North Carolina, also released Tuesday, has Biden ahead, 50% to 47%.

Harris had been scheduled to visit Charlotte and Asheville Oct. 15, the first day of early voting across the state.

But she canceled the in-person trip after the Biden campaign discovered that two members connected to the campaign had tested positive for COVID-19.

“I have (had) many tests now and they’re negative. And I am fine, I’m good,” Harris told a virtual campaign event set up in its place that day for North Carolina supporters.

Reacting to Harris’ Wednesday visit to North Carolina — the second time in the state since becoming Biden’s running mate —Trump campaign spokesman Gates McGavick said, “Kamala Harris’ last-minute efforts to win over North Carolina voters are too little, too late.”

US Senate race

North Carolina is also electing a U.S. senator this year. The N.C. Republican Party announced plans Wednesday morning to greet Harris at the airport in Asheville with a cardboard likeness of Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham. Republicans are pressing Cunningham to answer questions about a personal scandal that has engulfed his campaign against U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, the Republican incumbent.

But Cunningham has kept his focus on campaign issues, including health care.

While Tillis has appeared with Trump at some of his North Carolina rallies, Cunningham did not show up on Sunday when Biden visited Durham. Gov. Roy Cooper welcomed the former vice president and made mention of Cunningham in brief remarks at the airport that were picked up by WRAL.

“I wanted to show my strong support for you,” Cooper told Biden in the exchange. “I think we’re gonna all get across the line. I think Cal is going to get across the line, too. I know that was frustrating.”

After confirming a series of sexually suggestive text messages he exchanged with a woman who is not his wife and apologizing to his family, Cunningham has declined to answer any other questions about the scandal. He’s now under investigation by the U.S. Army Reserve following the revelations he may have had an extramarital affair.

Staff writer Jim Morrill contributed.

This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 4:26 PM with the headline "With NC a tossup, Biden running mate Harris makes case against Trump in Charlotte."