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Democrats target North Carolina as they aim to strengthen their base in 2024

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

So as the 2024 election approaches, Democrats know they've been doing very well with young voters, at least they do very well with young voters who show up to vote. In the state of North Carolina, they want more young voters to be enthused, and NPR's Elena Moore reports on their efforts.

ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: It's hot and sunny at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro as new student orientation is in full swing. A&T is the largest historically Black university in the country, and many of those students are gearing up to vote for the first time next year.

SOLOMON HAYES-BROWN: I think it would be a nice refresh for us to get someone even in their 50s, you know? Like, even that will be good.

MOORE: That's Solomon Hayes-Brown, a sophomore from Charlotte who's working orientation. He says he'll still vote Democrat next year, but he says young folks are turned off by the older front-runners.

HAYES-BROWN: Biden is 80 and Trump - he's, like, 77, something like that. So they're getting up there. So if we saw a younger candidate, I think that would be beneficial.

MOORE: A&T is no stranger to political drama. The campus was split into two separate congressional districts, giving Republicans a distinct advantage in this part of the state. Courts ruled that unconstitutional, and now the campus sits in one district, filled with young voters and Black voters - two groups that Democrats count on to show up to the polls. That's why the president and first lady visited the school last year. Rising senior and Greensboro native Charity Ewing remembers that.

CHARITY EWING: And it was just really nice to be able to see what their future plans are. So I would love to see him carry that out.

MOORE: Ewing isn't excited about a Trump-Biden rematch, and she's not alone. According to NPR's latest polling, Biden's approval with voters under 30 is just 38%. That's lower than any other age group.

Elena Moore, NPR News, Greensboro, N.C.

(SOUNDBITE OF FEVERKIN'S "APRIL") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Elena Moore is a production assistant for the NPR Politics Podcast. She also fills in as a reporter for the NewsDesk. Moore previously worked as a production assistant for Morning Edition. During the 2020 presidential campaign, she worked for the Washington Desk as an editorial assistant, doing both research and reporting. Before coming to NPR, Moore worked at NBC News. She is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and is originally and proudly from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ximena Bustillo
Ximena Bustillo is a multi-platform reporter at NPR covering politics out of the White House and Congress on air and in print.