The Charlotte Observer du lieu suivant : Charlotte, North Carolina • A14

14A CHARLOTTE OBSERVER SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1 2020 percent White; 9.1 percent Native American; 6.2 percent Hispanic; 2.4 percent Black). Party registration: Repub- Unaffiliat- Nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains, this county tends to honor its Democratic roots more in local and state elections than in races for the White House. In 2016, ticket- splitters made Jackson one of only four N.C. counties to go for Republican Trump for president and Democrat Roy Cooper for governor. Unaffiliated voters now outnumber registered Democrats and Repub- licans in Jackson County, thanks partly to students at Western Carolina Uni- versity in Cullowhee.

But the Democrats con- trol the county commis- sion they won big in 2018. And Jackson Coun- sizable Native Amer- ican community mostly Cherokees leans Demo- cratic. Republicans dominate in the southern part of the county, around Cashiers, a wealthy enclave of sec- ond-home owners. Once a familiar face in this area of Jackson: Mark Mead- ows, a former real estate developer and sandwich shop owner who went on to represent the region in Congress and is now Pres- ident chief of staff. together all these types and you have a very interesting county, politi- said Chris Cooper, a political science profes- sor at Western Carolina University.

that many rural counties are this Purple as in a blend of Republican red and Dem- ocratic blue. Even the university was deemed to be one of the most politi- cally centrist campuses in North Carolina, based on a 2008 poll conducted by CBS News and The Chronicle of Higher Edu- cation. The pandemic has hurt some local businesses, especially restaurants and bars. But most of the stu- dents have returned to the university and have been voting early at polling places on campus and at the nearby Cullowhee Recreation Center. Will they go for Biden or Trump? guess is it will be a pretty close said Cooper.

on campus and in the HYDE COUNTY Location: The coast. Named for: Edward Hyde, the first colonial governor of North Car- olina. County seat: Swan Quarter. Population: 4,937 (61.8 percent White; 26.7 per- cent Black; 9.8 percent Hispanic). Voter registration: R-574; Hyde is the sec- ond smallest county in population and its second largest in size if you count all the water.

Sur- rounded by the Pamlico Sound and the Alligator and Pungo Rivers, Hyde is home to Lake Mattamus- keet the largest natural lake in North Carolina. And to get from the Hyde County mainland to Ocracoke Island, which is also part of the county, requires a two-hour ferry boat ride. The mainland and the island are also at a dis- tance politically. Ocracoke votes Democrat, but Repub- licans have a red tide in Hyde read the headline in the Ocracoke Observer the day after the 2016 election. On the island, Hillary Clinton beat Trump two to one: 318 votes to 158.

But coun- tywide, Trump was the easy winner: 1,275 votes to 956. are more Demo- cratic (voters) on Ocra- coke, said Kathy Anderson, a Republican member of the Hyde County Board of Elections. And many of the islanders she added, are not natives of Hyde County. The mainland has a lot of registered Democrats, too, Anderson said, they always vote the Democrat Still, locally, members of the county commission include an equal number of Democrats and Repub- licans. And African Amer- icans, who make up about a quarter of the population, tend to vote Democratic.

In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama carried Hyde County by 22 votes. statewide victory margin was 0.32 percent). For most of every year, those on the mainland and the island keep busy with the influx of sports fisher- men, bear and duck hun- ters, and tourists who flock to beau- tiful beach and historic lighthouse. This year, the CO- VID-19 pandemic has intruded even in rural Hyde County, with flare- ups at a local nursing home and at the Hyde Correctional Facility. The nearest hospitals are an hour away, in Washington, N.C., and Nags Head.

Like the rest of the state, Hyde County has already started voting. And Anderson said she seen about an equal number of Trump and Biden signs around the county. She predict a winner in Hyde. But she will say this: think be close. And be surprised if CASWELL COUNTY Location: Northern Piedmont, bordering Vir- ginia.

Named for: Richard Caswell, the first governor of North Carolina after U.S. independence from Great Britain. County seat: Yancey- ville. Population: 22,604 (61 percent White; 32.3 per- cent Black; 4.6 percent Hispanic). Voter registration: Yanceyville attorney George Daniel has never given up on the Democrat- ic Party, but many in this rural county he once rep- resented in the N.C.

Sen- ate have. Some of them are now his clients, and heard their complaints over the years about how Washing- ton Democrats like the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and others tobacco the crop that once defined this economy. textile mills are long gone, too. just felt like Washington had forgotten Daniel said.

Enter Donald Trump. who in 2016 won Caswell and other rural counties in North Carolina by tapping those feelings of abandon- ment. Four years later, Cas- well is still looking for a second act for its econo- my. near enough to become a bedroom com- munity for people working in the Triangle, the Triad or Danville, which may soon vote to open a casino. But, for now, Da- niel said, still try- ing to get speedy broad- band for the whole county, not just a few selected locations.

And Biden vs. Trump? If the election were decided by the number and size of yard signs, campaign flags and other insignia, Daniel said, be Trump going in Caswell. Those who are for him are really for him. hear it Daniel said. a businessman, going to drain the But some in Caswell fault handling of the pandemic.

And the hard line on immigration could en- danger the flow of HB2 workers temporary farm hands from Mexico and other countries into Caswell. Though many African- Americans have left the county in search of better jobs, Blacks still make up about a third of the coun- population and still vote Democratic. So, it could be close, Daniel said, but there are a lot of Trump signs. ROBESON COUNTY Location: South-cen- tral, bordering South Car- olina. Named for: Revolu- tionary War colonel Tho- mas Robeson.

County seat: Lumber- ton Population: 130,625 (42.3 percent Native American; 24.7 percent White; 23.6 percent Black; 9.2 percent Hispanic). Voter registration: Long a predominantly Democratic county, Robe- son voted twice by double digits for Democrat Ba- rack Obama, then narrow- ly in 2016 for Republican Donald Trump. The common denom- inator? message of both Obama and Trump boiled down to economic said Emily Neff-Sharum, who chairs the political science and public admin- istration department at UNC Pembroke in Robe- son County. That populist promise resonated in a county lost many of its factory jobs over the years and where nearly a quar- ter of the population now lives in poverty. It also helped Trump that he was running against Hillary Clinton.

this county, when they hear they hear said Neff- Sharum, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact championed in the 1990s by then-President Bill Clinton and blamed by some for causing a loss of manufacturing jobs. lot of the older workers (in Robeson) considered NAFTA an unforgivable move by the federal gov- This year, another issue, one been around for more than 100 years, has taken center stage in the battle for votes in Robeson County, Namely, full fed- eral recognition of the Lumbee Tribe, which would bring access to federal health care and money for education. The Lumbees are North largest Native FROM PAGE 1A COUNTIES SEE COUNTIES, 15A WHEN THEY HEAR THEY HEAR NAFTA. A LOT OF THE OLDER WORKERS (IN ROBESON) CONSIDERED NAFTA AN UNFORGIVABLE MOVE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Emily Neff-Sharum, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact championed in the 1990s by then-President Bill Clinton and blamed by some for causing a loss of manufacturing jobs.