Nash County continues presidential winning streak for 4th election

NASHVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- If North Carolina was a key battleground state, then Nash County was the battleground county that decided it all. Going into Tuesday, Nash County correctly predicted the last three presidential winners. And after voting for former President Donald Trump, the county's results foretold the eventual outcome a fourth time.

"I think it's the fact that the economy has been so bad the last four years a lot of things have not been good at all, so why not vote for Trump?" said Deborah Joyner from Nashville, who was happy her candidate won.

It comes after Nash County had gone back and forth between the two major parties.

In 2012, Barack Obama won by 471 votes against Mitt Romney.

Then, in 2016, Trump won against Hillary Clinton by just 84 votes. Four years later, in 2020, it was back to blue for Joe Biden, defeating Trump by only 120 votes.

But in 2024, it went red again, with a slightly larger margin for Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, who carried Nash by 987 votes.

Jacobi Roberson from Nashville says he hadn't voted since doing so for Obama in 2008. This time he voted for Trump, citing the economy.

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"Prices and everything is going back up, and we trying to get that back to where it's supposed to be, and I think a lot of people felt how I felt," Roberson said.

But even among Harris supporters, in a closely divided community, it's a reminder nothing is permanent.

"We thought some people would learn, but I hope we're wrong," said Harris supporter Bill Smith from Rocky Mount.

And in Nash County, they'll be watching carefully, and if they're not happy, they're not afraid to change for a fifth time in 2028.

"After four years you get tired of stuff, and they want a change," Roberson said.

The crystal ball of Nash County didn't just correctly pick the president. Voters also split their tickets downballot, voting for Democrat Josh Stein to succeed Roy Cooper, who grew up in Nash County, as governor. They also helped Democratic Congressman Don Davis win a close race for re-election after his district, which includes Nash County, was redrawn by the GOP legislature to be more Republican-friendly.