President Donald Trump is headed to North Carolina on Sept. 16 in his quest to help Republicans win the midterms.
Trump will speak in Gastonia, and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Michael Whatley said in a Facebook post he is eager to welcome the president at the event. Trump is traveling to North Carolina the day after first lady Melania Trump visited the state to speak at a school.
Trump's vowed earlier this month to travel to 35 competitive races to campaign for his party. Republicans face an uphill battle, as midterms are often seen as a referendum on the presidency and Trump's approval rating has long been underwater. Trump won North Carolina in all three elections, but recognizes the tight race Whatley faces.
"Now in North Carolina, you
have a little more difficult case because people don't quite get it, but they're gonna find out," Trump said on Sept. 9 at the Republican midterm convention.
Here is what to know about the competitive races in North Carolina and Trump's standing in the state:
What is Trump's approval rating in North Carolina?
Trump's approval rating is net negative in North Carolina, according to pollster calculations.
Morning Consult rolls up its poll results over a three-month period to calculate the state approval rating. Surveys conducted April 1-June 30 found 41% of registered voters in North Carolina approve of Trump's job performance, compared to 56% who disapprove.
The Economist uses weekly YouGov polls to make projections of the state-level approval ratings. In North Carolina, Trump is also in the red by a margin of 23 percentage points, according to The Economist.
Trump's average approval rating nationally sits at 39% approval and 58% disapproval as of Sept. 16, according to the New York Times polling aggregator.
Are there any close races happening in North Carolina?
Trump will be joined by Whatley, who is running against former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, for a U.S. Senate seat. It is an open race to fill the seat vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. The Cook Political Report has rated the race as leaning Democrat. Polls consistently show Cooper leading by at least several points, according to the New York Times poll tracker.
Whatley was one of a few Republican Senate candidates in close races who traveled to Texas for the Republican midterm convention.
How many seats did Republicans lose in the 2018 midterms?
In the 2018 midterm elections during Trump's first term, Republicans lost 41 House seats and gained two Senate seats, according to the American Presidency Project. (In the 2022 midterms under former President Joe Biden, Democrats lost nine House seats and won one Senate seat.)
In North Carolina in 2018, all incumbent Representatives won re-election. (In District 9, the incumbent Republican Representative was ousted in the primary but Republicans ultimately kept the seat in a special election that occurred in early 2019, according to Ballotpedia.) There was no race for U.S. Senate in North Carolina in 2018.
Watch the North Carolina rally live:
USA TODAY will livestream the appearance on YouTube. Trump's remarks are scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Watch:
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump headed to North Carolina today where Republican faces tight race
