Nash County could be key leader in presidential race – ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

ROCKY MOUNT, NC (WTVD) — They say every vote counts, and nowhere is that more true than in Nash County. North Carolina is already a battleground state, but Nash County could be the key predictor of how the state, and possibly the country, plays out.

“I believe whoever wins Nash County goes to the White House,” SAID Pastor James Gailliard, also a former Democratic state representative from Rocky Mount.

And there may be a precedent for this.

“We have the inner city of Rocky Mount, but then you have rural communities like Middlesex and like Red Oak,” he said.

Add it all together, the home district of two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is also 3-for-3 in presidential elections. In the last three presidential elections, Nash County has turned out to be decisive, with Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden each winning Nash by a few hundred or even just a few dozen votes.

In 2012, Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 471 votes. Then it turned red in 2016, with Trump beating Hillary Clinton by just 84 votes; then in 2020, back to blue, with Biden leading Trump by just 120 votes.

At Word Tabernacle Church, they hit the phones to reach voters. Gailliard said he believes Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Raleigh on Wednesday, can win by appealing to the middle in a district home to many ticket brokers

“She’s a good enough politician and a good enough statesman that in order to win over America and rural communities, I have to have moderate policies, and I believe the voters understand that,” Gaillard said.

Meanwhile, as Trump rallies voters in Rocky Mount on Wednesday, Republicans said they believe the momentum is on their side.

“I think what we’ve been through the last four years has gotten a lot of people to come out and vote,” said GOP volunteer Betty Bissett.

And in such a close race, Nash voters know how powerful they are.

“I think my vote today made a big difference,” said Sylvia Mann of Castalia.

The enthusiasm is evident in the voter turnout. As of Oct. 29, Nash County had a 46 percent voter turnout, compared to 43 percent statewide, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.