唐纳德·特朗普总统正在进行自他在党的中期大会上召集共和党人以来的首次竞选之旅——为北卡罗来纳州参议员候选人迈克尔·沃特利（Michael Whatley）游说，他的种族可能决定11月对国会的控制权。
对于共和党来说，这个席位通常是一个舒适的赌注-自2008年以来，北卡罗来纳州从未选举过民主党人进入参议院，特朗普在过去的三次总统选举中赢得了该州。但是经济困难正在重创该州，这可能会影响竞选。
总统对北卡罗来纳州加斯托尼亚的访问——就在夏洛特大都会区之外——正值民调显示共和党全国委员会前主席沃特利继续落后于前州长罗伊·库珀（Roy Cooper ），这位民主党人六次在北卡罗来纳州当选，这场比赛已经有数百万美元的现金涌入。
共和党战略家、前RNC通讯主任道格·叶禾说，他一直认为今年在北卡罗莱纳州取代即将退休的参议员托姆·蒂利斯的参议员竞选对共和党人来说将是“艰难的”。北卡罗莱纳州的参议院选举是几场争夺上议院控制权的关键竞争之一，共和党在上议院中占微弱多数。
随着从汽油泵到杂货店过道的价格继续上涨，专家们表示，北卡罗莱纳州人对可负担性的担忧主导了当地的谈话——沃特利最终可能会在投票箱中承受这些挫折的冲击。
“人们谈论的第一件事是他们刚刚花了多少钱，不管是在加油站、杂货店还是在餐馆，”北卡罗莱纳州人叶禾说，他今年在该州呆了一段时间。
附近戴维森学院的政治学教授苏珊·罗伯茨博士说，大多数选民在决定11月份投票给谁时，会考虑生活费用。
罗伯茨说：“我认为这不会是对特朗普的公投，因为这是对经济的公投——以及特朗普可能会造成的后果。”
库珀将他最近的竞选活动称为“降低成本”之旅，因为北卡罗莱纳州的民主党人正在努力将沃特利与选民在特朗普第二个任期内经历的价格上涨联系起来。沃特利是特朗普的亲密盟友，在RNC任职前曾领导北卡罗莱纳州共和党。
当地民主党主席大卫·布朗表示，特朗普访问他的县时，高成本正在“吞噬每个人的预算”
“他来的时候，我们正看到他的伊朗战争导致的创纪录的油价，”布朗说。
一些共和党人以及白宫认为，拜登政府通过的政策是全国成本上升的原因，但叶禾指出，在美国政治中，“掌权的总统是在经济上获得荣誉或指责的人”。
沃特利竞选团队渴望欢迎总统来到加斯顿县，特朗普在2024年以超过20个百分点的优势击败了卡玛拉·哈里斯。
“没有人像特朗普总统那样鼓动共和党人出去投票，他的访问是今年11月共和党人投票的重要组成部分，”沃特利竞选发言人DJ格里芬在一份声明中告诉美国广播公司新闻。
叶禾指出，特朗普在历史上推动了投票率，但只有当特朗普在选票上时。
“当不是他时，投票率会下降，”他说，然后补充说，特朗普也倾向于推动民主党人的投票率。
在上周的共和党中期大会上，特朗普告诉共和党人“假装我在选票上。”
“当我在竞选时，共和党人总是做得很好．．．，”特朗普说。“所以我让你假装我在选票上。我要生了。我要生了——就一次。”
库珀竞选团队将总统对该州的访问描述为“沃特利在华盛顿的圈内朋友”的纾困尝试，并在一份声明中补充说，库珀是“唯一一个计划降低成本的候选人”。
杰·贝里是林肯顿附近的一个小企业主，他的制造公司与政府签有合同，他说尽管油价上涨了，他还是很高兴总统来访。
“每个人都喜欢特朗普总统，”他说。
但贝里说，他不会参加周三的活动，告诉美国广播公司新闻，他已经听够了竞选演讲，并已经相信沃特利将是一个比库珀“更好的领导人”。
“我不需要去看奶牛，因为我知道那是我要买的东西。”
Trump stumps for Senate candidate in North Carolina as Republicans fear losing the seat
President Donald Trump is making his first campaign trip since he rallied Republicans at the party＇s midterm convention -- stumping for North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley， whose race could decide control of Congress in November．
The seat would typically be a comfortable bet for the GOP -- North Carolina hasn＇t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008， and Trump won the state in the past three presidential elections． But economic pain is hitting the state hard， which could impact the race．
The president＇s visit to Gastonia， North Carolina -- just outside the Charlotte metro area -- comes as polls show Whatley， the former chair of the Republican National Committee， continues to trail behind former Gov． Roy Cooper， a Democrat elected statewide in North Carolina six times， in a race that has seen millions in cash poured into it．
Doug Heye， a Republican strategist and former communications director for the RNC， said he always thought this year＇s Senate race in North Carolina， replacing retiring Sen． Thom Tillis， would be ＂tough＂ for Republicans． North Carolina＇s Senate race is among several crucial races for control of the upper chamber where Republican have a narrow majority．
As prices continue to go up from the gas pump to the grocery store aisle， experts say North Carolinians＇ concerns over affordability are dominating the conversation on the ground -- and Whatley could end up bearing the brunt of those frustrations at the ballot box．
＂The No． 1 thing people are talking about is what they just spent， whether that＇s at the gas station or at the grocery store or at a restaurant，＂ said Heye， a North Carolina native who has spent time in the state this year．
Dr． Susan Roberts， a political science professor at nearby Davidson College， says that most voters are going to consider the cost of living when deciding who to vote for in November．
＂I don＇t think it＇s going to be a referendum on Trump， as it is a referendum on the economy -- and what Trump might have wrought，” Roberts said．
Cooper has branded his latest campaign swing as a ＂Make Stuff Cost Less＂ tour， as North Carolina Democrats work to tie Whatley -- a close Trump ally who led the North Carolina GOP before taking up the mantle at the RNC -- to the rise in prices that voters have experienced over the course of Trump＇s second term in office．
David Brown， the chair of the local Democratic Party， says that Trump＇s visit to his county comes as high costs are ＂eating into everybody＇s budgets．＂
＂He＇s coming at a time when we＇re seeing all these record gas prices from his Iran war，＂ Brown said．
Some Republicans -- as well as the White House -- have argued that policies passed by the Biden administration are the reason for the rising costs across the country， but Heye notes that in American politics， ＂the president who＇s in power is the one who gets the credit or the blame＂ on the economy．
The Whatley campaign is eager to welcome the president to Gaston County， where Trump defeated Kamala Harris by more than 20 points in 2024．
＂No one fires up Republicans to get out and vote like President Trump does and his visit is an important part of turning out Republicans to the polls this November，＂ Whatley campaign spokesperson DJ Griffin told ABC News in a statement．
Heye noted that Trump has historically driven turnout， but only when Trump is on the ballot．
＂There is a drop off when it＇s not him，” he said， before adding that Trump also tends to drive turnout among Democrats as well．
At the Republican Midterm Convention last week， Trump told Republicans to ＂pretend that I＇m on the ballot．＂
“WhenI＇montheticket， Republicans always do very well ．．．，＂ Trump said． ＂SoI＇masking you to pretend that I＇m on the ballot． I＇montheballot．I＇monthe -- justone more time．＂
The Cooper campaign characterized the president＇s visit to the state as a bail-out attempt from ＂Whatley＇s D．C． insider friends＂ -- adding in a statement that Cooper is the ＂only candidate with plans to make stuff cost less．＂
Jay Berry， a small business owner in nearby Lincolnton whose manufacturing company has contracts with the government， says that even though gas prices have gone up， he’s glad the president is visiting．
＂Everybody loves President Trump，＂ he said．
But Berry said he won’t be attending Wednesday＇s event， telling ABC News that he has heard enough campaign speeches and already believes that Whatley will be a ＂better leader＂ than Cooper．
“I don’t need to go see the cow， knowing that’s what I’m going to buy．＂
