Nov 5, 2024 9:19 PM EDT

Large turnout in North Carolina: ‘We really are at play this year’

Last day of early voting in Charlotte, North Carolina

A mother and son join other residents of Mecklenburg County waiting in a line to cast their ballots at a polling site on the last day of early voting in the state, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 2, 2024. Photo by Jonathan Drake/ Reuters

North Carolina saw a large turnout and long lines at the polls on Election Day, with some of the biggest numbers seen at universities.

PBS News Hour’s Amna Nawaz spoke with Colin Campbell, a reporter for The News & Observer in Raleigh about North Carolina voter turnout. Campbell said student voters at Appalachian State University stood in line to vote for four hours

Campbell said early voting numbers favor Vice President Kamala Harris, but pointed to the attention both campaigns have shown the state as evidence that North Carolina is up for grabs.

“You see the Trump campaign not taking this state for granted at all,” Campbell said, detailing the number of campaign rallies the former president held in recent days. “That shows that we really are at play this year that we weren’t in the last couple of presidential cycles.”

Watch Campbell’s breakdown of North Carolina’s voters.