Endorsement: On issues most important to NC, our choice for president

The most precious commodity for presidential candidates is time, and they have lavished it on North Carolina.

In this final week before Election Day, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will again be in the state on Wednesday — this time in Rocky Mount and Raleigh, respectively.

The reason for the attention is obvious. By most calculations, Trump cannot win the presidency unless he wins the swing state of North Carolina. Conversely, Harris can block his path to the White House by putting North Carolina in her column. Recent in-state polls show Trump and Harris tied in North Carolina.

Much of what will transpire in the nation and the world in the next four years could be set in motion by North Carolina’s choice. National and international issues will weigh heavily, but North Carolina voters should also consider which presidential candidate would be best for North Carolina.

To that question, there is a clear and compelling answer: Kamala Harris. That decision is based on three issues central to the economic and physical health of North Carolina: immigration, climate change and state politics.

Trump has lit the immigration issue on fire, painting many as criminals who are “poisoning the blood of our country.” If elected, he promises to deport many of the 11 million people now in the U.S. without legal status, most of them living in the U.S. for more than a decade. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said the roundup and removal should start with 1 million people.

Harris acknowledges that the immigration system is broken, especially at the southern border, but a bill crafted in large part by Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and initially supported by Republicans would have started to fix the problems. Trump successfully intervened to kill it. Harris would bring the legislation back.

Trump’s draconian immigration policies would be disastrous for the U.S. economy and for North Carolina’s in particular. Immigrants make up 11 percent of North Carolina’s labor force and account for one in every four construction workers. They are also vital to the economy’s service and high-tech sectors. Trump’s policies would choke the flow of workers and stifle the nation’s economy.

Meanwhile, more than a third of the state’s 915,000 immigrant residents are here without legal status. Deporting large portions of our essential workforce without planning or thoughtfulness would be a social and economic disaster.

Trump’s outright denial of climate change would also worsen disasters of another sort. North Carolina’s natural resources are a major source of its wealth and its pride. But the state’s long coast, its low-lying coastal plain and its mountains leave it especially vulnerable to rising sea levels, hurricanes, flooding, mudslides and wildfires.

As vice president, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which invests billions of dollars to build a clean energy economy and increase resilience to storms and droughts.

Trump has called climate change a hoax and promises to accelerate production of fossil fuels. As president, he renounced the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change on a global basis. His policies would lead to a hotter planet and greater risks for North Carolina. Hurricane Helene’s $53 billion in damages to the western part of the state shows how great that threat is.

Finally, Trump would also worsen the state’s political climate. His divisive MAGA-style politics have obliterated the traditional Republican Party and fostered the rise of candidates in North Carolina who trade in racism and sexism and undermine public confidence in elections and the media. A Trump win will only increase the number of candidates who are antithetical to the state’s proud history of moderate politics and social progress.

Two presidential candidates are fervently seeking North Carolina’s vote, but only one would repay that support by humanely approaching immigration, by reducing threats from climate change and by encouraging a politics of hope and decency.

That candidate is Vice President Kamala Harris. If she wins, so will North Carolina.

This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Endorsement: On issues most important to NC, our choice for president."