Top political handicapper shifts ratings in key states for Harris-Trump showdown.
Across the country, key battleground states like North Carolina will likely influence the presidential election's outcome.
A renowned non-partisan political analyst is predicting that three crucial states will shift their support to Vice President Kamala Harris in her potential 2024 election battle against former President Donald Trump.
The Cook Political Report has changed North Carolina's political leaning from Republican to toss-up, making it one of seven crucial battleground states that will likely decide the presidential election's outcome.
In the 2008 election, the last Democrat to win the state and secure the presidency was Barack Obama.
Despite Biden's poor debate performance against Trump in late June, his lead in North Carolina grew to the mid single digits four years ago.
The race in North Carolina became a margin-of-error contest after Biden ended his 2024 re-election bid and Harris became the Democrats' national ticket leader.
Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, stated that her ratings shift was due to Harris' improvement in vote share by seven points since July, rather than Trump losing political ground.
Walter stated that the race is becoming tighter not due to Harris reducing Trump's votes, but because Democrats and independent voters who lean towards the Democrats are returning.
Since Biden dropped out of the race five and a half weeks ago, Trump has campaigned in North Carolina three times to prevent it from slipping out of his column.
The Trump campaign outspent the Harris campaign by $8.3 million to run ads in North Carolina since the president dropped out of the 2024 race, but the Harris campaign currently has $30 million in ad reservations in the state, compared to just $7.3 million for the Trump campaign.
North Carolina is now classified as a toss-up by both The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
In two competitive presidential election states, Walter shifted the Democrats' advantage, changing Minnesota and New Hampshire from likely Democrat to lean Democrat.
After the Biden-Trump debate, polls showed Trump gaining ground in Minnesota, a state where the GOP has not won a presidential election in over 50 years, and New Hampshire, where the Democrats have won the last five presidential elections.
Walter stated that Harris has successfully revitalized and motivated the Democratic coalition, making it difficult for Trump to win states like Minnesota and New Hampshire.
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