GOP Strategist's North Carolina Warning for Trump: 'Something's Going On'

A Republican strategist suggested that Donald Trump's campaign is concerned about his prospects in North Carolina, a key battleground state that he won in the last two elections.

Mike Murphy discussed Trump's recent focus on campaigning in the state on the latest episode of the podcast Hacks on Tap with former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod.

"I think it is more likely than not that he wins Georgia and North Carolina, but I tell you, I mean I've seen polling from those states in the last 48 hours—he's been in North Carolina like four times over the weekend," Axelrod said.

"Yeah, something's going on there," Murphy responded.

Axelrod noted that if Harris wins either Georgia and North Carolina, it would indicate Trump was "in deep trouble."

"I mean, it's a combined signal, that's what the Selzer stuff is about too," Murphy said, referencing a recent surprise poll which showed Harris ahead of Trump by three points in deep-red Iowa.

While not stating an opinion of which way North Carolina will go, Murphy predicted that it will not be a closely contested race, and that whoever wins, will "win a bunch" of swing states.

He described Trump as seeming "tired" and having a "defeated vibe" which is having an impact on his supporters.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.

Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 4, 2024. Republican strategist Mike Murphy discussed the former president's focus... RYAN M. KELLY/AFP via Getty Images

Polls from North Carolina show Trump and Harris to be neck-and-neck, with each candidate's leads often falling within the polls' margins of error.

The race's competitiveness is notable for a state that has only voted for a Democratic presidential candidate twice in the past 50 years—one of which was Obama in 2008.

Trump won North Carolina in both 2016 and 2020, but by fairly narrow margins of about 3.6 and 1.3 percent.

Trump appeared in rallies in four cities in North Carolina between Saturday and Monday as part of his final swing-state blitz before Election Day.

Harris also made a final push in North Carolina, hosting a rally in Charlotte on Saturday night.

Republicans in the state have also been embroiled in scandal amid controversy surrounding GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, after several allegedly racist and sexist comments he had posted online surfaced.

While Democrats might not view North Carolina as a likely win, Harris is at least making a play for it.

The Harris campaign has raised significant amounts of cash and has built a notably larger ground presence in the state than Trump, with 29 field offices and 350 staff members based there, per The New York Times.

Highlighting the importance of winning the state, one unnamed Trump campaign official recently told NBC News: "If there's one state that could bite you in the a**, it's North Carolina."