With Harris on the march, Trump aims to shore up North Carolina

North Carolina is the only swing state that both parties are actively contesting this cycle that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 .

Since the beginning of August , Trump ’s campaign and his joint fundraising committees have spent at least $7.4 million on ads in the Tar Heel state.

That's about $3 million more than Harris ' campaign has spent over the same period.

The Harris team sees the influx of spending and attention here as proof that their GOP rivals are increasingly nervous about keeping the state's 16 electoral votes.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper : “I have that 2008 feeling. They're going to protect everything they want in 2020 .

This is the one state they want to get. It was their closest loss in 2020 . She can win North Carolina , because people are excited,” he said.

Democrats see an influx of young Americans and shifting demographics in the state as favorable to their candidates.

“ Kamala Harris has spent decades fighting violent crime,” one ad begins.

“As a border state prosecutor, she took on drug cartels and jailed gang members for smuggling weapons and drugs across the border. As vice president, she backed the toughest border control bill in decades .” Kanninen , who led Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign in North Carolina , said Harris ’ focus on the state will only further increase.