GASTONIA, NC — GASTONIA, NC (AP) — Donald Trump will rally supporters in North Carolina every day leading up to Tuesday’s election, a late surge in the only swing state he won in both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

Even as Trump seeks to expand the electoral map and project power with trips to New Mexico and Virginiatwo Democratic states not widely seen as competitive, he devotes a lot of time to North Carolina, which last supported a Democrat for president in 2008.

The former president’s path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency becomes significantly more complicated if he loses North Carolina. The fast-growing Southern state gave Trump his narrowest margin of victory — 1.3 percentage points — over Democrat Joe Biden four years ago.

Trump campaigned in Gastonia, west of Charlotte, on Saturday and was scheduled to be in Greensboro later in the day, with a stop in Salem, Va., in between. He will be in the eastern city of Kinston on Sunday and in Raleigh on Monday. Those four rallies will bring his total in North Carolina since Oct. 1 to nine. His running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has been to the state six times in the same period, most recently on Friday.

Vice-President Kamala HarrisTrump’s Democratic rival, will also be in North Carolina on Saturday for a concert and rally in Charlotte. Her campaign has not announced any other trips to the state before Election Day.

Damages extended from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina created a dose of uncertainty about the state of play here. Flooding destroyed homes and displaced residents in several counties, including the liberal city of Asheville and the conservative rural areas surrounding it.

Trump’s team said it was confident in his chances in North Carolina. Democrats see Trump’s focus on the state as a sign of optimism for Harris.

“The repeated appearances may signal that Trump’s campaign is in trouble,” said Democratic state Rep. Marcia Morey of Durham. “If Trump continues his dangerous and violent rhetoric in recent days, he may be back. A campaign of personal revenge does not win votes from the people.”

Trump adviser Jason Miller said Trump’s late-campaign trips were not a wake-up call.

“I’m not worried about anything,” Miller told reporters Friday. “We have a smart strategy that will get President Trump through 270, maybe even a couple of states that surprise you, that slide in there. But we will follow our strategy. Our strategy comes from our data and our targeting.”

As he does at most of his North Carolina events, Trump said in Gastonia that his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, whom he installed as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, is from the state, and that Lara and Eric Trump called him daughter Carolina.

“It’s an amazing place. You’ve been through a lot,” Trump said, referring to the hurricane before repeating a claim denied that the Federal Emergency Management Agency prioritized people living in the country illegally over hurricane victims. “Your government hasn’t helped you much, I can tell you. Your government, FEMA, is letting you down because they wanted to spend the money on illegal immigrants.”

About half of North Carolina’s 7.8 million registered voters had already cast ballots Friday, supported by advance voting in person, which ends Saturday afternoon.

North Carolina Republicans have been buoyed by anticipated voter turnout among their supporters after state and national GOP leaders shifted this year to a “bank your vote” strategy rather than focusing on turnout. vote on election day.

Entering the final days of the campaign, over 50,000 more registered voters of the Republic of Moldova than Democrats voted early or by absentee ballot, even though there are over 100,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans nationally, according to election data state. It is unclear whether the increase in Republican early voting will result in higher overall turnout for Trump supporters.

Independent voters now form the largest group of registered voters in North Carolina. Trump lost ground with independents between 2016 and 2020.

Harris supporter Gwen Garnett, 66, said the Trump storm in North Carolina is “just part of the process. It doesn’t worry me at all.” She gave Harris’ candidacy a spiritual dimension.

“This is an anointed moment for her to have this role,” Garnett said. “I just think it’s God’s timing.”

The state’s voters have shown a tendency to split their ticket over the years. That’s why, while Republicans have controlled the state legislature since 2011, Democrats have held the governor’s mansion for all but four years since 1993.

GOP hopes of breaking that stranglehold on Tuesday appeared to be fading in recent weeks after the party’s gubernatorial nominee, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, received unwanted publicity from a CNN report alleging he made racially and sexually explicit posts on the message of a pornography site. board more than a decade ago.

While Robinson denied writing the messages and sued CNN for defamation last month, his campaign almost imploded, raising fears that a big win for Democrat Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, could hurt GOP candidates in other races.

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Robertson reported from Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Detroit and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.