BLACK MOUNTAIN, North Carolina — When Hurricane Helene hit this swing state, it immediately became fodder in the presidential race.
But conversations with more than 75 residents of western North Carolina suggest the unprecedented, climate-fueled storm has done little to sway voters. Nor has the government response or the misinformation that former President Donald Trump has spread about it.
Instead, political divisions in one of the election’s most competitive battlegrounds have become even more entrenched as hurricane survivors filter the past month through their preexisting worldviews.
“We all already had our mind made up,” said Dallas Levan, a 75-year-old retired county worker. “If you didn’t have your mind made up a long time ago, you’re stupid.”