In a state as important as North Carolina, you would think Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would have developed talking points that would resonate with the changing demographics in the state.
It is becoming apparent that he has not.
In a speech last week in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was quoted saying that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton “owes the state of North Carolina a very big apology.” He attacked Clinton based on her support of free-trade deals that he claims led to the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs around the country.
The response to his free-trade message was tepid at best.
This muted response is due to the fact that textile and furniture manufacturing are no longer the leading job creators in North Carolina. The state has turned towards banking, technology, and other information service jobs to grow the economic output and put people to work. In fact, because of these new industries, North Carolina’s economic output has been growing at a faster rate than any other state for the past three years.
These new industries have also brought in a new demographic to the state of North Carolina. A younger, more-educated group of people have begun to populate the state taking a majority of the high paying jobs along with them.
Many political strategists see this influx of young workers coming into the state as a threat to the Republican establishment that has been prevalent for so long. North Carolina Republican pollster Michael Luethy agrees with this sentiment. He said:
“Clinton is winning. Particularly because folks who have moved to the state in the last five years are very different voters. They’re persuaded by a different issue set than those that have been here a while.”
The nearly 200,000 people that have moved into North Carolina since 2012 are going to give Donald Trump all sorts of trouble. The majority of these people are moving into urban areas like Charlotte where Hillary Clinton has more than fifty percent support. She is also leading by a two-to-one margin in areas like Raleigh and Durham.
The Charlotte area has doubled over the past twenty-five years, thanks to Bank of American Corp. which has its headquarters located in the city. Because of this, Charlotte has become a transportation and financial hub for young people looking to gain employment.
Meanwhile the Raleigh-Durham area has nearly doubled over the past fifteen years. This is due to the university region’s medical and technological businesses that have consistently seen a rise in demand for their services.
This rise in demand for intellectually minded jobs has Clinton seeing a potential future for Democrats in North Carolina. She knows that, on average, younger and more-educated voters tend to be more Democratic, and she is hoping to capitalize on this for the November election.
Michael Hall, Clinton’s campaign battleground data analyst, said that Clinton was “cautiously optimistic” about her chances in North Carolina. He also mentioned that everyone recognizes states like Virginia are more open to a Clinton presidency than the state of North Carolina. With that said, he also added that:
“North Carolina is moving in that direction, faster than Virginia, in fact.”
Which means that Clinton will try her hardest to win North Carolina for the general election, but she also recognizes that her efforts are “priming the pump” for future Democratic campaigns within the state.
Here is a video of Hillary Clinton campaigning with current President Barack Obama at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFriXwmoOEs
Image is a screengrab from YouTube.
