Residents in North Carolina’s Watauga County are focused on survival rather than politics after Hurricane Helene ravaged much of the western part of the state. The storm and the destruction that followed came only weeks before the president election. And North Carolina is one of the most important swing states. But the race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris has taken a back seat as North Carolinians try to find loved ones who are missing and try to rebuild their homes and their lives. That hasn’t stopped the candidates from making frequent stops in North Carolina and neighboring Georgia in the storm’s aftermath.
