Republicans are running an intensive, “all-hands on deck” operation to get out the vote in North Carolina, targeting low-propensity voters in the battleground state recently impacted by a disastrous hurricane, says the chair of the Republican campaign arm.
Rep. Richard Hudson chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and represents North Carolina’s 8th congressional district. He spoke with Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on GOP efforts to ramp up early voting in the state this cycle.
“As more of our traditional voters vote, then that lets us spend our resources focused on adding more voters to the rolls or to the tally sheet and then turning them out. So it’s all hands on deck. The party’s bought into it. All our candidates are pushing it. And so far it’s been very successful,” Hudson said.
North Carolina saw record turnout on the first day of early voting in the state, Oct. 17, when 353,000 registered voters cast their ballots.
DEMS NEED TO RAMP UP EARLY VOTING EFFORTS TO MATCH GOP MOMENTUM IN NORTH CAROLINA: ANALYST
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, greets U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee. (Win McNamee)
“Certainly here in North Carolina, we’re seeing record turnout for Republicans,” he added. “And that’s good. That allows us to target lower propensity voters with our turnout efforts as we get closer to Election Day and on Election Day. And so I think it’s going to be a difference maker.”
Republicans have put an emphasis on encouraging voters to vote early this year after seeing lower early turnout for the party compared to Democrats last cycle. As of Friday, the North Carolina State Board of Elections reported that Republicans are leading Democrats in early voting, 55% to 51%.
BATTLEGROUND STATE VOTING DATA REVEALS OVER 200K VOTES CAST IN RED COUNTIES IMPACTED BY HURRICANE
“It’s a culture change. Republicans are now really focused on early voting. We’ve done voter contact by knocking on people’s doors, calling them on telephones. We’ve done it through the mail, through digital contact.”
Voters cast their ballots at an early voting location in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. (Nathan Posner)
Hurricane Helene had a severe impact on the state, specifically across western red counties which historically vote Republican. Despite the storm, there have been successful efforts to ensure voting access for those in the impacted western counties across the state.
“It’s been a real challenge, but our state legislature, I think, did the right thing and passed a law that said if you live in one of those 25 counties that were affected by the hurricane, you can vote in any of our counties,” Hudson said.
The North Carolina Elections Board passed a bipartisan emergency resolution that reformed the state’s early voting process in 13 counties, including changing or adding voting sites and maintaining their availability, extending the hours and adding or reducing when any site is open within the early voting period, according to the election board.
Parts of North Carolina, like Chimney Rock, were hit hard by Hurricane Helene. (Getty Images)
Despite roadblocks to early voting, the North Carolina Board of Elections reported that Tuesday’s voter turnout in the 25 western counties affected by recent events is surpassing the statewide average.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I know a lot of folks are staying with relatives in other parts of the state. This will allow them to cast their votes. There’s also been an effort to add voting locations in those areas and to try to help people access those. There also was concern about absentee ballots being lost. And so we’re trying to help get new ballots to folks that need them,” Hudson told Fox. “There’s an all-hands on deck effort. But it’s a challenge because there’s a lot of communities that are still cut off, a lot of people who are still missing. And it’s just a real tragedy that it really is a lot more important than some of the other things.”
As of Friday, about 49.32% of ballots were already cast in North Carolina for the 2024 election. In-person early voting in North Carolina ends on Saturday, Nov. 2.