Roll Call on the Road: Courting the Carolinas
North Carolina has long been a Senate battleground, and this year its neighbor to the south is also part of the fight for control of the chamber.
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South Carolina hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1998, but Darline Graham, the appointed Republican incumbent, faces a tighter-than-expected contest against Democrat Annie Andrews. Meanwhile, polls in the Tar Heel State show Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper favored to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.
“If we flip this seat in North Carolina, we can flip the Senate, and we can help restore the checks and balances that the framers of the Constitution intended,”Cooper told supporters in Rocky Mount, N.C., last week.
He’s squaring off against former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who in an interview Saturday predicted a “very close race,” noting that a lot can happen a little over two weeks until Election Day.
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A handful of House races in both states could also prove critical to deciding which party holds the majority next year.
Campaigning in both states is ramping up, with in-person early voting beginning last week in North Carolina and Monday in South Carolina. CQ Roll Call photojournalist Bill Clark was on the trail, following candidates in eastern North Carolina and then in Charleston, S.C.
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Daniela Altimari contributed to this report.
