Election officials report a record turnout in some of the hardest-hit areas in a crucial swing state narrowly won by Trump in 2020.
BURNSVILLE, N.C.—From the hollers to the mountaintops, the rugged North Carolina survivors of Hurricane Helene who lived through hell and high water are turning out in droves to vote.
Political pundits have been discussing if voting would even take place in western North Carolina on Election Day, given the monumental loss and struggle facing Appalachian mountain residents.
Helene, a Category 4 hurricane, struck Florida on Sept. 26, leaving a trail of death and disaster as it traveled northward into North Carolina. At least 95 fatalities tied to the storm were reported in the Tar Heel State, which experienced devastating floods, landslides, and power outages.
The mountains of western North Carolina are considered a Republican stronghold. Storm survivors who spoke with The Epoch Times said the government’s response to what some have called a disaster of biblical proportions was too little, too late.
Former President Donald Trump won the swing state by 1.3 percentage points in 2020.
The state is considered a must-win for both Republican presidential candidate Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
The 25 counties in the disaster area contain 1.3 million registered voters. In 2020, Trump won 604,119 votes to Joe Biden’s 356,902 votes in those counties, according to political analyst Ray Bonifay, who noted the importance of the region, in an Oct. 18 commentary on RealClearPolitics.
Generational Loss
On a warm October day in Mitchell County, North Carolina, Tammy McMahan, 56, proudly wore an American flag sticker on her shirt proclaiming she voted.
A little house she inherited from her mother in the next county over, on Micaville Loop in Burnsville, suffered severe damage from the storm. Three generations of her family have lived there.
On the back porch, she pointed out family treasures that survived Helene’s massive flooding: ornate gold mirrors, a wooden magazine rack, concrete garden statues, and a brass clock that her mother loved.
Like others who spoke to The Epoch Times, her voice occasionally broke with emotion.
“And so this is what I have left. This is it,” she said, while scanning the items arranged on the buckled porch.
