SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Organized by NC Democrats and hosted by the New Hanover County Democratic Party, a rally for Tim Walz on Thursday in Wilmington will include a special guest, also a Carolina native.
READ MORE: Tim Walz adds Wilmington to the campaign trail
It’s confirmed musician James Taylor will be performing at the rally, to be held at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Walz is also expected to visit veteran-owned businesses while in town.
“The New Hanover County Democratic Party is so honored and excited to host Vice Presidential candidate Governor Tim Walz,” NHC Chair Jill Hopman said. “This visit, less than two weeks before Election Day, highlights how critical our very purple, bellwether county is to the national race and how much influence our voters have here.”
Guests who have RSVP’d to the rally are asked to arrive by 3 p.m.; sign-ups are open here but it does not guarantee admission.
Taylor — well-known for tracks including “Fire and Rain,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Carolina in My Mind” — has never shied away from politics, often posting selfies of himself and family on his socials at various voting sites to encourage others. He was scheduled to perform at the Democratic National Convention in August, but it was canceled due to a security breach that delayed opening night.
It’s Taylor’s second political performance in Wilmington. The singer-songwriter took the GLA stage in 2008 when Barack Obama was on the ticket and won North Carolina. That election season Taylor did a series of free concerts across the state in support of the candidate.
Obama was the first Democratic to win the presidential election in North Carolina since 1976, when Jimmy Carter took the state. Taylor also performed at Obama’s inauguration.
Nor has a Democratic candidate won North Carolina since Obama lost his rebid in 2012 to Republican Mitt Romney, with former president Donald Trump taking the state in both 2016 and 2020.
Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have a close race in North Carolina currently — considered a battleground state. The Trump-Vance ticket is outpacing the Harris-Walz ticket, 48.1% to 47.3%, according to FiveThirtyEight.
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