Tim Walz reacts to higher Republican turnout, fewer Black voters in Ch. 9 interview

CHARLOTTE — Presidential candidates are focusing on North Carolina as a key battleground state, with both Democrats and Republicans campaigning hard in the leadup to the election.

Vice Presidential Candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was in Charlotte on Wednesday and spoke to Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz about the trends they’re seeing in early voting.

In a room full of a few hundred people, Walz made a last pitch to Charlotte voters with less than 130 hours until election day.

“We’ve entered that phase where it’s get out the vote,” Walz told the crowd in Charlotte.

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According to data from the NC State Board of Elections, more Republicans have turned out to vote early than Democrats, which isn’t usually the case in past elections.

Sáenz asked Walz about the turnout in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

Sáenz: “Are you behind?”

Walz: “Well, we knew this race was going to be close. The momentum is on our side. I think we’ve seen the contrast last night in the vice president’s new way forward, a speech going forward, and we’ve seen Donald Trump kind of end in a look backward.”

Sáenz: “But are you concerned at all about these early voting numbers?”

Walz: “No, no, the folks can vote early or they can vote on election day. They all matter at the end of the day, and if there’s more folks voting now, good for them, but we’re going to get everyone to the polls.”

Sáenz: “The Black vote is also crucially important to your campaign. It is also down in the early voting numbers by about 200,000 from the same point in time in 2020. What is not sticking with that community when it comes to your campaign?”

Walz: “Well it is, and all votes matter, what I think right now is folks have a little fatigue because of Donald Trump hoping to kind of suppress these votes. Look, you can feel the energy, we know things are turning, we’re seeing that happen, we’re seeing the numbers coming out, and the only thing that matters to us is by election day, we got the folks to the polls.”

More women have turned out to vote than men in North Carolina, which could be encouraging for Democrats right now -- however, this is all data that’s changing by the day.

In-person early voting in North Carolina runs through Saturday, and election day is on Tuesday.

See our full interview with Walz below: