North Carolina stays true to swing state tag, Trump marginally ahead in neck-and-neck fight with Harris

North Carolina is among seven swing states that could decide the outcome of the US presidential polls on Tuesday, even as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Democratic and Republican nominees respectively, remain locked in a neck-and-neck fight to succeed Joe Biden in the Oval Office. As per AP's early trends, Trump took a slender lead over Harris but the race could go down to the wire.

A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes out of 538 nationally to clinch the election. Also, a candidate can win the election despite trailing their rival in the popular vote.

Why North Carolina matters

The state’s 16 electoral votes make it strategically important for both Harris and Trump. They have spent the final week before the November 5 election, campaigning in the swing states, including here.

Pre-poll surveys: The Republican has a slender 1 pp lead over Harris, his principal rival, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Also Read: From one North Carolina polling booth, decoding the Donald Trump edge

2020 result: This was the only swing state where Trump won. He got 49.9% votes here and 46.9% nationally, while Biden secured 48.6% (51.3% nationally).

Current controversy: Mark Robinson, the Republicans' gubernatorial nominee, allegedly posted racist and explicit messages on a pornographic website more than a decade ago. According to AP, the party made a last-minute push to convince Robinson to withdraw from the contest. However, he has refused to do that, leading to fears this could affect Trump’s performance in the critical state.

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Early voting numbers: Ahead of the 17-day, early in-person voting period that concludes at 3 pm on Saturday (00:30 am IST), nearly 3.8 million (38 lakh) people had already used the early in-person ballots. When traditional absentee, military, and overseas voter ballots are included through Friday afternoon, the number rises to nearly 4.01 million ballots — more than 51% of the state’s 7.83 million (78 lakh) registered voters.

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