GREENVILLE, North Carolina— As North Carolina Republican Jennifer Balkcom rallied with President Donald Trump to boost the state’s Republican congressional ticket this week, a pro-Trump super PAC pulled the plug on funding her race.
The news broke that No Going Back PAC, a super PAC affiliated with Trump’s MAGA Inc. group, pulled $1.5 million out of North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District race, where Balkcom is running against Democrat Jamie Ager to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC).
Balkcom, along with Republican Laurie Buckhout, the nominee for the 1st Congressional District, was appearing onstage with Trump and GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatle, to help boost turnout before Election Day. The House and Senate races will decide if the GOP will maintain its control of Congress in the last two years of Trump’s second term.
GOP PACs cutting money from Balkcom’s race came the same day that Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the contest from “toss-up” to “leans Democratic.”
Yet, North Carolina Republicans and their conservative allies aren’t giving up despite poor political headwinds.
“We’re not hitting the panic button,” said Dalton Clark, Americans for Prosperity Action adviser in North Carolina.
AFP Action recently endorsed Balkcom’s campaign to replace Edwards, who ended his reelection bid after allegations of misconduct with female congressional staff led to his censure by the House. AFP is spending at least six figures to boost Balkcom and is spending the final weeks door-knocking in the western North Carolina district.
“The amount of support that she has in this area is just bolstering,” said Clark, who is spending his time on the ground in the district this week. “I don’t think we had a single person that said that they were voting for Jamie Ager all day long.”
Clark dismissed polling showing Democratic momentum, claiming that it misses candidate quality and candidate strength.
“It’s so hard to quantify candidate quality and the number of people who might be upset with the president that might be not very enthused to get out and vote in a season like this, but they want to come vote for their neighbor and their friends like Jennifer Balkcom,” he said.
He also pointed out that the NRCC did their first $1.4 million coordinated campaign buy with Balkcom’s campaign after news broke about No Going Back PAC pulling out, claiming, “I’m not really as worried about that as much as anything else,” he said.
“NC-11 is a Republican district, Jennifer Balkcom is a phenomenal candidate with deep local roots, and liberal Jamie Ager is a partisan Democrat whose radical tax-and-spend policies firmly align him with the Democratic Socialist extremists engaging in a hostile takeover of his party,” said NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson. “Voters know Ager would make their lives more expensive and less safe, which is why they’ll turn out for Jennifer Balkcom.”
Voters told the Washington Examiner that campaign support from Trump and Vice President JD Vance would help Balkcom prevail. Vance recently rallied in Hendersonville, Balkcom’s hometown, where he announced a nearly $900 million infusion to help the state recover from Hurricane Helene.
“He will definitely help Jennifer,” said Stephanie Gordon, 58, a retiree from Hendersonville, about the Vance visit. “Jennifer is good on her own, but name recognition is everything. And coming into the race a little bit late means that we need to bring her up and show her off.”
Like many people in Hendersonville, Gordon has known Balkcom for years and said hometown roots were a benefit in the campaign against Ager, a farmer.
In northeastern North Carolina, where the 1st district is located, Republicans hope that Buckhout can defeat incumbent Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) but also concede it won’t be easy.
“It’s going to be a tough ride. She didn’t win last time. It’s going to be tough,” said John Haggerty, 63, a retiree from Gaston. “If all the people come out and vote, the registered Republicans come out and vote. I think we’ll be fine.”
Todd Williamson, 72, a retiree from Washington, North Carolina, said he was afraid Davis could defeat Buckhout. “But I would say in general, I think Don’s got more baggage,” he added, citing ads slamming Davis for his stance on transgender policies.
Yet, Republicans have their own baggage. Trump’s approval numbers remain low, including in the Tar Heel State.
“The pundits can say whatever they want,” said Buckhout’s campaign manager Stephen Gallagher. “Our polling has Laurie Buckhout winning, and what we’re seeing on the ground backs it up: packed rooms, fired up Republicans, and folks lining up to vote early for her. Laurie has faced bullets and led soldiers in combat. Pressure doesn’t faze her. Don Davis knows he’s in trouble. On November 3rd, eastern North Carolina is sending Laurie Buckhout to Congress.”
There is also concern that an underperformance in the Senate race, where former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is leading against Whatley, could be a drag downballot. Hours before Trump arrived in Greenville, Democratic state Sen. Kandi Smith told reporters Tuesday she was “absolutely not” worried that Trump’s visit would boost Whatley.
“North Carolinians, they’re facing skyrocketing costs right now, thanks to Donald Trump and Michael Watley’s agenda,” Smith said. “From day one, Whatley has backed the war, and now, even as it drives up fuel costs to record highs, he continues to back the same war.”
The Senate Leadership Fund canceled its future ad reservation in North Carolina to redirect funds to other candidates nationwide. And in what was likely a slip of the tongue, Trump told supporters Tuesday evening that Cooper is “going to become your senator, and it’s crazy.”
Trump also claimed he could return to the state next week, which would be his third trip to help boost Whatley’s campaign in roughly a month. He wasn’t alone in trying to help Whatley overcome. National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) appeared in Greenville to make the case for the Republican ticket.
“We must elect Michael Whatley here in the Tar Heel State. We’ve come to make sure President Trump has his support,” said Scott. “We’ve got to hold the firewall because if we don’t do it, the Democrats have said it. They’re not hiding their hands anymore. They have said it very clearly. Their goal is to put a Supreme Court justice on the bench who’s a socialist… We have to hold the Senate.”