Republicans are running a 'successful' early voting campaign in battleground North Carolina: NRCC chair

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and represents North Carolina's 8th congressional district. He spoke with Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on GOP efforts to ramp up early voting in the state this cycle.

"As more of our traditional voters vote, then that lets us spend our resources focused on adding more voters to the rolls or to the tally sheet and then turning them out. So it's all hands on deck. The party's bought into it. All our candidates are pushing it. And so far it's been very successful," Hudson said.

"Certainly here in North Carolina, we're seeing record turnout for Republicans," he added. "And that's good. That allows us to target lower propensity voters with our turnout efforts as we get closer to Election Day and on Election Day. And so I think it's going to be a difference maker."

"It's a culture change. Republicans are now really focused on early voting. We've done voter contact by knocking on people's doors, calling them on telephones. We've done it through the mail, through digital contact," Hudson said.

Hurricane Helene had a severe impact on the state, specifically across western red counties which historically vote Republican. Despite the storm, there have been successful efforts to ensure voting access for those in the impacted western counties across the state.

"It's been a real challenge, but our state legislature, I think, did the right thing and passed a law that said if you live in one of those 25 counties that were affected by the hurricane, you can vote in any of our counties," Hudson said.

Despite roadblocks to early voting, the North Carolina Board of Elections reported that Tuesday's voter turnout in the 25 western counties affected by recent events is surpassing the statewide average.

"I know a lot of folks are staying with relatives in other parts of the state. This will allow them to cast their votes. There's also been an effort to add voting locations in those areas and to try to help people access those. There also was concern about absentee ballots being lost. And so we're trying to help get new ballots to folks that need them," Hudson told Fox. "There's an all-hands-on-deck effort. But it's a challenge because there's a lot of communities that are still cut off, a lot of people who are still missing. And it's just a real tragedy that it really is a lot more important than some of the other things."

As of Friday, about 49.32% of ballots were already cast in North Carolina for the 2024 election. In-person early voting in North Carolina ends on Saturday.