Dion Figueroa | Correspondent
Early voting in the state of North Carolina is coming to a close this weekend, and despite Democrats having an early lead in voter turnout, their numbers have begun to slow as Election Day nears. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections around, 1.5 million North Carolinians have taken advantage of the overall convenience and shorter waiting times of early voting. The bigger question is whether or not the Democrats will be able to stay ahead while the party’s African-American voters have lagged behind when getting to the polls. CNN poll analysis shows that at this point in the 2012 election African-American voters made up 30% of the Democrat’s Electorate, this cycle only 24%.
A month ago the thought of North Carolina being a true battleground state seemed highly unlikely. As the finishing line approaches, Hillary Clinton’s supporters in North Carolina are not just putting up a tough fight any more. It’s actually beginning to look like a win for the Blues, making North Carolina, which was formerly a historical Red state, a Blue state for the second time in three election cycles. Hillary Clinton, her husband Bill Clinton, President Obama, and even First Lady Michelle Obama having been making a round of last minute and impromptu rallies around the Raleigh area.
Following the often ugly first two debates, the third was surprisingly calm. Fox News moderator Chris Wallace did his job admirably, keeping not just the two candidates, but also the crowd, in check throughout the final debate. In the opening minutes Trump came out fairly strong, keeping his composure, and showing a more relaxed and not so angsty side of himself. However, his lack of understanding of any policy allowed Clinton to maintain a slight edge for most of the night. Late, “The Donald” began to show his true self, consistently interrupting the former Senator with his childish antics of saying “wrong” when Clinton made any sort of accusation. Mr. Trump simply cannot remain civil for an entire debate, leaving him looking more petty as time goes on. In a year wherein we are seeing a massive uptick in approval for President Obama, Trump needs to come up with a better campaign motto because, “if you vote for Her you’re getting another four years of Obama,” doesn’t sound too bad right now.
Throughout the General Election, hesitant voters have been searching for reasons to like Clinton, but every time she seems to be making progress, something comes up, sending her approval ratings plummeting. The irony of the matter is that Trump has proven to be such a polarizing candidate and, at times, has almost assured that Hillary Clinton will win the Election come November 8th. But the Democratic nominee seems determined to stand in her own way consistently. Roadblocks such as the her infamous E-Mail scandal make her a very difficult choice for undecided voters. The fact that she enlisted the help of CNN’s Donna Brazile for help during the debates makes it even harder to like her. Our potential future President was so eager to win that she felt the need to cheat in order to maintain an edge over her terrifying opponent, and that is not okay. It’s Hillary Clinton’s race to lose, and even though she seems a shoe-in as of now, one more scandal before Election day could swing some momentum in Donald Trump’s direction and make the outcome a bit more uncertain.
Remember to go out and vote!
