Hart Leadership Program Director Gunther Peck, Deondra Rose, assistant professor and director of research of Polis, and Pope “Mac” McCorkle III, professor of the practice and director of Polis, weighed in on the importance of North Carolina in the 2020 elections this week in a media panel livestreamed by the Duke Chronicle. ABC 11 News quotes all three professors in an article published yesterday. Excerpts from this article are found below:
“Just as in 2016, North Carolina is an absolute must-win for Trump. If the Democrats win North Carolina, I will boldly predict we will have a Democratic president in 2020,” said Duke professor Pope “Mac” McCorkle. “It’s a purple state, a swing state. It’s a must-win for the Republicans.”
“African-Americans are likely to support whoever gets the nomination,” said Deondra Rose, research director at Duke University and the school’s NC Policy Lab. I do think that for the majority of Democratic voters, unseating President Trump is a priority.”
Duke professor Gunther Peck also offered his opinion on the importance of the state on a national level.
“North Carolina is a 50/50 state depending on who shows up. So there are cross-cutting factors that make this state incredibly important,” Peck said. “There’s a lot of hesitation among Democrats to get behind any one candidate; there’s uncertainty about how to best pool their strengths. It is an incredibly fluid political moment.”
Read more at ABC11 or watch the video from the Chronicle here.