Recent political rallies have seen the Democratic vice-presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz vigorously reaching beyond the blue enclave of Buncombe County to sway undecided voters. Speakers accompanying Walz seemed perfectly conscious of North Carolina’s hotly contested electoral status, amid polls that suggest an uncertain outcome. Rather humorously, they’ve been urging voters to push North Carolina towards their side astronomically.
Asheville’s Mayor, Esther Manheimer, was one of the prominent faces delivering speeches, which seemed overly focused on getting more votes, rather than on real issues. She emphasized going door-to-door and even making plans for getting people to polling stations – actions reminiscent of a sales pitch more than political discourse. According to her, North Carolina is a battleground and she believes they can turn the tides.
Manheimer was the one to receive Walz when his plane landed at Asheville Airport – extending a handshake and a brief, pleasantries-filled chat. She delightedly reported to her audience that Walz was ‘super nice’. It was yet another attempt to endear voters with personality over policy.
The Mayor did her best to emphasize what’s at stake with this election, invoking everything from reproductive rights to economic prospects and the state of democracy itself. Her comments painted a picture laden with crisis and urgency. She then handed the platform over to Gov. Tim Walz in a fiery spectacle, unapologetically underscoring the Democratic choice for the state and the country.
Political analysts have scrutinized North Carolina, a state that favored President Trump by a thin margin in 2020. Their analysis often highlights the region’s contradictory voting patterns – Trump’s narrow victory within the broader solid red territory surrounding the blue urban center of Western North Carolina.
Meredith Anderson, an N.C. Coordinated Campaign organiser, claimed that the ‘path to the White House runs right here through North Carolina.’ This was yet another assertion, devoid of substantive policy discussions, and steeped in political hyperbole, aimed at stimulating voter turnout for the Democratic party.
As part of his primary push as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, Walz recites a rather cliché tale in his campaign speeches. The narrative involves two groups of people viewed from a bus at a rally – one formed of their supporters and another of non-supporters. The punchline regrettably emphasizes their willingness to work equally for both groups. However, given the rhetoric sprayed at the previous administration, one cannot help but question this claim.
Among the evening’s speakers was Bob Orr, a former state Supreme Court Justice who voiced his dissatisfaction with the current state of the Republican party. Orr, who identifies as Republican, lamented the transformation of the party he has known for nearly five decades. He appeared at the rally with the express goal of garnering support for Harris and Walz, criticizing Trump and his associates for their ‘extreme agenda.’
Orr went on to lament about his former party, painting a bleak picture that hardly mirrors the Republican party that many recognize. He used strong phrases aimed at undermining the party of Trump, JD Vance, and Mark Robinson. The crowd reciprocated his speech with chants of ‘thank you,’ making the partisan divide in the room exceedingly clear.
Interestingly, voters in Buncombe County have consistently chosen Democrats in presidential elections since 2008. This is in stark contrast to the overwhelmingly red voting record of the neighboring region. North Carolina has only broadened its political horizons twice in the last 50 years, the most recent instance being for Barack Obama in 2008.
N.C. State Rep. Lindsey Prather arrived with a mission – flip North Carolina towards the blue end of the spectrum like the audience. There were also appearances from the Asheville City Council, Vice Mayor Sandra, who, echoing Manheimer’s sentiment, spoke to an ‘it’s on all of us’ approach to voter responsibility. Perhaps in an effort to create a sense of shared duty in the audience.
She warned the crowd of the potential devastation she envisioned should Trump secure a second term. She weaved a tale of a worried Republican neighbor as an example and painted a picture of bipartisanship purely based on disapproval for Trump. Even worse, she seemed to equate political affiliations with the ability to discern between right and wrong, an oversimplified and dismissive view of the complexities of political thought.
Walz, in his closing remarks, made a peculiar pitch: to abandon loyalty to a party based purely on performance. His words echoed the common sentiment amongst those at the rally. This strategy though reeked of desperation, urging voters to switch sides instead of offering substantive policies and solutions.
N.C. State Rep. Caleb Rudow, who is also vying for a U.S. House of Representatives seat against incumbent Republican Chuck Edwards, reinforced Walz’s message. He emphasized the importance of leaving a team that isn’t delivering, but offered no concrete examples of what he or his party would do differently. Interestingly, none of the speakers seemed keen to discuss detailed policies or plans for North Carolina or the nation at large. The rally ended up being more spectacle than substance, reflecting the frustrating state of political discourse in modern times.