President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris embracing during a March 26 event in Raleigh. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper looks out into the cheering crowd. Photo by Eros Hoagland/Getty Images.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.– President Joe Biden will be in Wilmington tomorrow afternoon to discuss infrastructure and environmental issues in the state. He will also take a trip to Charlotte to pay his respects and visit the families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty on Monday afternoon.
The itinerary and location of both visits are not public as of now.
The visit comes after the administration announced a $21 million Economic Development Investment plan for North Carolina’s Rural Partners Network (RPN). The projects will allow rural and tribal communities to upgrade infrastructure, expand clean energy, and increase economic opportunities.
This will be President Biden’s third trip to the state this year. The administration, including First Lady Jill Biden, has visited North Carolina about 16 times since the beginning of this year.
Vice President Harris takes the lead with about 12 visits to the state alone.
The administration has focused its visits on healthcare and women’s health research, climate change, education, the economy, and entrepreneurship.
It’s also important to note that this upcoming visit is presidential, not campaign-related.
The New Hanover County Democratic Party released a statement on Biden’s visit explaining this “cannot come at a more critical time during a more critical election year in a more critical place.”
Shelia Huggins, a North Carolina Democratic National Committee Member, said the administration is focusing on pocketbook issues that matter to everyday working-class people.
North Carolina is the perfect state in which to discuss these issues.
“They are here to invest in North Carolina,” Huggins said.
The administration, Huggins said, is working to benefit the community and businesses by visiting and connecting with the people. They are working hard on coalition building and beginning to organize in North Carolina, as it is a key swing state in the 2024 election.
Huggins said as voters decide who they’re voting for, they’ll look at the issues and what candidates are doing and not doing.
“Voters will see that the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to North Carolinians,” Huggins said.
But when we speak about voters, it’s important to consider the youth vote. According to a Tufts University report, Gen Z makes up 40 million potential voters, and about half reported they are “extremely likely” to vote in the 2024 election.
The youth vote can make or break the success of a campaign or candidacy, and young people have many opinions on the issues that matter to them.
Daniel Patterson, the North Carolina Teen Democrats President, said young voters know the importance of relation organizing. Using your network to mobilize and effect change is the top tool for young, politically active people.
At only 16 years old, he said he sees his peers getting each other involved in local elections and, most importantly, educating each other on the issues, key candidates, and general voter information.
“Young people still need to be reminded of the importance of their vote,” Patterson said. “And rally around the issues that matter to them.”
The Biden-Harris administration, Patterson said, “knows the road to the White House is North Carolina.”
And young North Carolinians, to be exact.
Webb Cummings, a young and new voter based in Durham, said he is an active and excited voter, but the options for president do not lend much hope. He said he will be voting this November, but it feels like there’s no possible win with Biden or Trump.
“I’m disappointed that the American political machine has failed us,” Cummings said. Adding that he feels the government is supposed to work for the people and that’s not what it feels like right now.
Although it’s a scary time, politically, for new and young voters, Patterson remains steadfast in his optimism and hope this election season. He added that this is a very binary election, heavily dependent on a “one or the other vote.”
Edited by Allie Sadoff