The devastating hurricane Helene struck a wide swath of the southeastern U.S., causing extensive damage to buildings, roads and infrastructure. Thousands of people have been displaced, and hundreds have died. FEMA and state and local organizations have been working around the clock to assist the residents of the affected areas. But one fact stands out, according to Politico. Much of the regions hit in Georgia and North Carolina are Republican strongholds that voted for the Malignant Loser, and may affect turnout for him:
"Hurricane Helene hit especially hard in heavily Republican areas of Georgia and North Carolina — a fact that could work to Donald Trump’s disadvantage in the two swing states.
Research has shown that major disasters can influence both voter turnout and voter preference. And Helene has pushed this contest into novel territory: It’s the first catastrophic event in U.S. history to hit two critical swing states within six weeks of a presidential election, based on a POLITICO’s E&E News analysis of data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The challenge for Trump: The parts of western North Carolina and eastern Georgia that were flooded by the monster storm are largely Republican. In 2020, he won 61 percent of the vote in the North Carolina counties that were declared a disaster after Helene. He won 54 percent of the vote in Georgia’s disaster counties." (our emphasis)
Of course, hard-hit Asheville, NC and the surrounding region is a Dem bastion, so there might be a counter effect for Dems.
Recognizing that Trump supporters need assistance in the wake of a natural disaster, it's notable that the Party they support consistently votes to reduce or eliminate Federal disaster funding, and Trump's Project 2025 proposes to drastically change the National Weather Service / NOAA which is vital to tracking and assessing major storms like Helene. The Politico article continues:
".... both states face crucial decisions in the next few days about how to help people register and vote after massive flooding ripped away roads, shuttered towns and dispersed residents. Those include whether to extend next week’s voter registration deadlines, grant more time for voters to cast absentee ballots, and set up new polling places in areas where floods destroyed roads.
State records show that nearly 40,000 absentee ballots were mailed to voters in the 25 North Carolina counties that were declared a disaster following Helene. Fewer than 1,000 have been returned."
Stay tuned.
(photo: Worried? Mandel Ngan / Getty)
