ASHEVILLE – The slate of speakers introducing Democratic vice-presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to a fervent Asheville crowd Sept. 17 seemed, like Walz himself, to be reaching out beyond the blue island of Buncombe County, extending a hand to those undecided or across the aisle.
They, too, were keenly aware of North Carolina’s status as a battleground state this election, with polls tightening — now an election that one political scientist called a “coin toss” — and urged voters to help “flip” North Carolina blue.
“We’re going to make calls, we’re going to knock on doors, we’re going to register people to vote, we’re going to make a plan to get people to the polls,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, the first of several speakers who took to the stage ahead of Walz at the Sept. 17 rally.
“We’re going to take this action because this year North Carolina is in play, and you can make it happen.”
Manheimer was there to greet Walz when he touched down at the Asheville Airport — with a handshake and brief conversation — and as she told a laughing crowd later that evening, he was “super nice.”