All in for North Carolina

Help Democrats win elections and save our democracy

Video courtesy of Ava Mitzi

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North Carolina: key to Democratic control of the U.S. government—and the future of our democracy

The geographic and strategic focus of our work at All in for North Carolina (AINC) is Mecklenburg County, the greater Charlotte area. To understand why this is a key leverage point for winning the presidency and statewide races, check out this 44-second video from Congressman and newly-elected Attorney General Jeff Jackson: he makes the case with crystal clarity.

North Carolina is a key swing state. While Republicans have won the last few elections here, margins have been close. In 2016, Democrat Roy Cooper won the governorship by 10,300 votes. Joe Biden lost NC to Donald Trump in 2020 by only 75,000 votes, just 1.3% – the smallest margin in any state that he lost – as Democrats came within two points of winning a US Senate seat. And Chief Justice Cheri Beasley lost her statewide election by only 401 votes – out of 5.4 million total.

Democrats CAN win in North Carolina. Demographic trends are in our favor, and the Harris campaign is investing heavily here. With 100 people a day moving to Greater Charlotte, the political landscape is turning blue. Many analysts believe North Carolina is the checkmate state for Trump – if he loses here, he has no plausible path to win. A victory in North Carolina, with its 16 Electoral College votes, equals wins in Wisconsin and Nevada combined.

Turning North Carolina blue in an evenly divided country could be the tipping point in the coming decade for the U.S. Senate and House as well as the presidency. With two highly vulnerable Republican U.S. senators, North Carolina will feature two of the nation’s best Democratic Senate pick-up opportunities in 2026 and 2028. And the state’s critical state Supreme Court elections in 2024, 2026, and 2028 will determine whether NC, one of the fastest-growing states, will have fair maps, which could make a difference in three or four U.S. House seats in 2030 and beyond.

This year, North Carolina has one of the most important governor’s races in the country this year, with Attorney General Josh Stein facing far-right Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson is running for Attorney General, and State Supreme Court Justice Democrat Allison Riggs is running for re-election. One of Democrats’ top goals is to break the Republican supermajority by picking up seats in the legislature. we only need to flip one state house seat to break the gerrymandered Republican legislature’s ability to override a Democratic governor’s veto of GOP bills to roll back democracy, reproductive rights, public education, and environmental protections.

Our strategic geographic focus continues to be Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city, and the surrounding area of Mecklenburg County. The county has more registered Democrats than the least populous 50 counties combined — over 330,000, the most in the state. But turnout in 2022 was 45%, compared to 58% in Wake County (which has Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill) and a statewide average of 51%, an abysmal 93rd of 100 counties. With our help and support and with dynamic new leadership in the MeckDems, Mecklenburg can do much better from now on, reaching and exceeding the statewide average. This could yield a net Democratic gain in that one county of up to 50,000 Democratic votes, two thirds of the 75,000 by which Biden lost the state in 2020.

You can help us lay the groundwork for Democratic wins in North Carolina! Our success working closely with the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party around Charlotte to win elections in 2023 proves that winning is possible — if we do the work.

In the 2023 election, the revived MeckDems focused on Huntersville, a suburb of Charlotte where the Democrats had never run a full slate. With a population of 62,000, Huntersville is Mecklenburg County’s second largest entity and the fifteenth largest in the state, bigger than Chapel Hill. A former state rep and gun-control activist won as mayor, and the town government flipped from all but one Republicans to all seven Democrats. The MCDP-endorsed slate for the county-wide school board races swept all three offices.

The power for this big win was the new volunteer operation the MCDP put together, with over 500 volunteers, including 150 canvassers. Our Sunday-night phone banks helped recruit many of these volunteers. The MCDP is building on that experience now to get tens of thousands more Democratic voters out to win statewide races and state legislative races—and win NC for Harris/Walz.

The dynamic, smart, capable young leaders of both MeckDems and the North Carolina Democratic Party are building statewide grassroots operations in all 100 counties this year, and they’re reaching into every corner of Mecklenburg County. They’ve hired organizers who have recruited tens of thousands of volunteers to have conversations with and turn out voters. As important, strong and growing civic and community organizations are doing on-the-ground organizing to help turn out Democratic voters.

This is where you come in: please join us in AINC to phone bank, postcard, raise funds, canvass, and support Democrats in North Carolina for an earthshaking big win.

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About All in for North Carolina

All In for North Carolina (AINC), affiliated with Swing Blue Alliance, is an all-volunteer, mostly out-of-state organization. AINC works closely with many North Carolina grassroots community and civic organizations, the North Carolina Democratic Party, the Mecklenburg County (Greater Charlotte) Democratic Party, and key Democratic elected officials and candidates. These North Carolinians know the terrain, have boots on the ground, and help direct our efforts. Our support for their work includes fundraising for community organizations and Democratic Party bodies, phone banks that recruit volunteers for in-state North Carolina organizations and that get out the vote, postcard writing, and organizing out-of-state volunteers to canvass in North Carolina.

In 2021-2, AINC and our out-of-state partners generated hundreds of volunteers for North Carolina groups. We also raised $375,000 for eight organizations and three candidates. In 2023 and through April 2024, we’ve raised over $1.5 million for organizations and the Democratic Party in North Carolina, through a half-dozen fundraisers attended by hundreds of people and involving over 1000 donors. These funds help Democrats win elections in North Carolina and strengthen organizations that engage, register, and turn out Democratic voters.

AINC leaders are based primarily in Massachusetts and New England, but we have a growing number of North Carolinians working with us. Almost all of our work, programs, and events are virtual. An exception is our canvassing program, for which we recruit out-of-state volunteers to travel to North Carolina to knock on doors and talk to voters.

We are governed by a Steering Committee. We welcome volunteers from New England and beyond, including many from North Carolina and some from New York, California, Maryland, Washington DC, and all over the U.S.

To sign up for our newsletter please fill out the form on this page.

If you would like to explore volunteer leadership opportunities or join our All in for North Carolina Team, please fill out this short form: https://forms.gle/eR7j3fEgwyQLsn8r6

For more information or with questions, comments, or suggestions, please email us at mafornc@gmail.com