CHARLOTTE — Looking to fire up North Carolina Democrats who want to help Vice President Kamala Harris win the state, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett expressed amazement that the presidential race was so close.

“What’s so frightening about it is that while we have this amazing talent on our side of the bench, and there are fools on the other side, we are in this race and it’s competitive,” Crockett said at the Guilford County Democrats unity dinner in Greensboro. “Like, what is happening? It’s a tight race.”

North Carolina is among seven swing states where Crockett has appeared as a campaign surrogate for Harris since summer.

The Dallas Democrat brings a unique perspective as a Black woman with experience as a civil rights lawyer and grassroots organizer. Crockett’s social media savvy and clapbacks against political rivals have repeatedly made her a viral sensation in her first term in Congress.

Crockett has deployed her acid wit and sharp tongue on Harris’ behalf in Georgia, South Carolina and other states that are filled with Black residents and college students who tend to vote Democratic.

“She’s a tremendous motivator,” said Jim Gallucci, a Greensboro Democrat and sculptor who heard Crockett speak at the unity dinner. “She’s real and has real experiences, including getting things done on a state level. Now she’s shaking things up in Congress.”

Crockett began the campaign season traveling on behalf of Biden but shifted her focus after he dropped from the race in July after a poor debate performance. She’s now a national co-chair for Harris, campaigning in states with demographic profiles that play to her strengths.

The switch was smooth, Crockett told The Dallas Morning News before a speech in Charlotte.

“The mission is the same. The approach is a little different,” Crockett said. “At the end of the day, you have two [Democratic] candidates that have delivered for the American people. While it’s been different, I’d like to say it’s like a remix. It’s still the same song, just a different vibe.”

Crockett is among the busiest surrogates on the campaign trail, traveling to many of the swing states, including a trip last weekend to Georgia.

In late September, soon after her high-energy speech at the Democratic National Convention, Crockett was in North Carolina for stops in Charlotte — where she spoke to an alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a national sorority of which she’s a member — and Durham for a college football tailgate before the Aggie-Eagle Classic featuring North Carolina A&T against North Carolina Central University, both historically Black universities.

“With the college campus stop, I’m going to be taking the message directly to people that may not necessarily be tuned into politics,” Crockett said, noting that her crimson suit from a previous appearance wasn’t exactly tailgate attire. “I will say one of the sweet spots for me is always going after those people that really haven’t necessarily been approached about the election or about their voice, or about their vote.”

Crockett finished the day in Greensboro by headlining the Guilford Democrats dinner.

Each stop was greeted with excitement.

“She’s gonna set us on fire,” said James Mitchell, a Charlotte City Council member who wore a T-shirt that read “Voting is my Black job,” a reference to July comments by Republican Donald Trump, who told a National Association of Black Journalists convention that immigrants were taking “Black jobs.”

“Our vice president can’t be everywhere,” Mitchell said before the Delta event began. “Jasmine Crockett is an incredible surrogate. She speaks her mind, and that’s the type of leadership our future president is embracing.”

“She’s genuine,” said Melody Harris, immediate past president of Delta Sigma Theta’s Charlotte Alumnae Chapter. “She’s straight, no chaser.”

The straight talk was on display at Harris’ third stop of the day as she chided Guilford County Democrats over a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a partisan map created by the GOP-controlled Legislature. The decision assured Republicans would gain seats in the state’s congressional delegation, which stood at 7-7.

“I know y’all want to feel good, but I gotta be real,” Crockett said. “I need you to dig deeper than you’ve ever done before, because the stakes are higher than they have ever been.”

Texas Republicans are doing their part to help Trump in swing states.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has been trying to boost Trump through his Gas & Groceries project, which sends a “Biden/Harris Hardship Report” to swing state voters.

Miller campaigned for Trump in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over the summer and was 30 feet away from Trump during the July assassination attempt in Butler, Penn. Miller also attended Trump’s return rally in Butler in early October.

During the final weeks of the campaign, Miller has been sending text messages, mail and a Spanish-language digital ad to swing state voters.

“We’re getting momentum,” Miller said. “We’re looking better than we ever have, even in the last two elections. I won’t say we’ve got it in the bag, because there’s still a lot of things that could happen, but we’re looking really good.”

A Texas underdog

To motivate North Carolina voters, Crockett shared her Texas underdog story.

She told hundreds gathered at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church for the Delta event how she defied the odds in 2020 to win a seat in the Texas House after being down by 700 votes after early voting. That victory was quickly followed by a successful 2022 run for Congress, setting Crockett up for a side career as a social media sensation.

“Every single vote matters,” Crockett said. “And if people have questions, tell them to go look up the story of the Tiktok sensation. If I didn’t win that election, I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Crockett thought she’d lost that 2020 House primary to incumbent Rep. Lorraine Birabil, but her deficit dwindled to 50 votes as Election Day votes were counted.

“I called my team at elections and I asked what’s left,” Crockett said. “She called me back and said MLK is still out.”

The crowded church began to cheer, knowing MLK meant a voting location on or near a street named for Martin Luther King Jr., which in most American cities is in a Black neighborhood.

“I said, ‘Oh, we’re going to win,’” Crockett said.

She urged the audience to never give up, never stop voting.

“I need you to talk to the Uber driver. I need you to talk to the unhoused person. I need you to talk to the person that may not believe that they have access to the ballot box because they’ve been criminally justice impacted,” she said.

Crockett toyed with alliteration, one of her signature moves.

“The theme today is empower, engage and elevate,” Crockett added. “Y’all know, I like some alliterations. I think it’d be a little better if we added a few more E’s – educate, empower, engage, energize, elevate and elect.”

The alliteration was a nod to Crockett’s viral response to U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, who suggested during a House committee hearing in May that Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” were interfering with her ability to read.

Democrats objected, but the panel’s Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, ruled Greene did not violate rules against personal attacks.

That prompted Crockett to ask Comer for clarification.

“If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach-blond, bad-built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?” she said.

The moment made her a national figure, leading to a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention, numerous appearances on TV talk shows and a Saturday Night Live spoof with Ego Nwodim portraying Crockett while roasting Republicans on a “mean-girl cam.”

Crockett’s fame preceded her to North Carolina.

“We hold her in the highest of esteem,” said Katrina Jones Young, president of the Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. “She is phenomenal, and the way she motivates and inspires is just incredible.”

Delta Sigma Theta is nonpartisan, but Young gave a personal view of the stakes in North Carolina, won by Barack Obama in 2008 and Republicans in 2012 and 2016.

“We have been tagged as one of the battleground states,” Young said. “North Carolina has been a red state. We turned blue for Obama, and it’s time for us to turn blue again.”

Speaking at the Charlotte event, Crockett had a similar message for Jordan Lopez, a young Black man who is running unopposed for the state legislature. He’ll be 26 when he takes office in January and asked Crockett, 43, for advice.

“When I was first elected I was supposed to be seen, not heard, and I didn’t quite follow that advice,” Crockett told him. “Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Remember, there’s a reason why you were elected.”

Giving the people what they want

At the Guilford Democrats dinner in Greensboro, Crockett urged North Carolinians to vote and cracked jokes about Republican politics in the state.

The crowd, already in a festive mood, laughed as DJ Maynard “Busta” Brown, the master of ceremonies, reminded them it was Earth, Wind & Fire day by singing one of the band’s signature songs, September.

“Do you remember, the 21st night of September,” he started, as the crowd recognized where he was going and joined.

At the beginning of her remarks, Crockett singled out North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Trump-backed GOP nominee for governor.

In September, CNN reported that more than a decade ago Jones made incendiary comments on a pornography website’s message board, including expressing his support for reinstating slavery and referring to himself as a “black NAZI.”

Robinson is suing CNN over the report.

“There was no way I was going to come to North Carolina and not clown this fool,” Crockett said. “It’s laughable, but it’s also scary, because you have a man that is running to be the governor of your state that thinks it’s cute to talk about bringing slavery back.”

“He’s got a lot of struggles on his hands,” she added. “We just need to pray for him and send him on home.”

Crockett told the sold-out dinner that it was important for Democrats in North Carolina, Texas and across the country to stay committed to effectively representing their constituents.

“What you see in me is what representation should look and feel like,” Crockett said. “For so long, we have been left out of the boardrooms. Now, not only are we getting in the room, but we’ve decided we’re not going to be wallflowers. We understand that we were duly elected like everybody else. We understand that there are people that are looking for us to represent and be their authentic voice.”

Stressing the importance of not looking past any potential voter, Crockett recalled giving an unhoused person water while visiting a polling station during her campaign for the Texas House.

“The next day, I checked in with my poll greeter and she said, ‘You’ll never believe what happened,’” Crockett said. “She said, ‘A bunch of homeless people walked into the polling place and said they were voting for you. They said someone on the campaign had given them water.’”

Penny Johnson, head of the LGBTQ caucus and co-chair of the Guilford County unity dinner, said the event had been on pace to sell 350 tickets. After Crockett was announced as the keynote speaker, the dinner sold out with more than 500 people in the Embassy Suites ballroom.

“We already saw a buildup and a much larger ticket purchase because of Kamala Harris, but then when we announced Rep. Crockett, it went through the roof,” Johnson said. “We are thrilled that she volunteered to come and speak with us.”

Johnson said she hoped Crockett’s visit would make a difference.

“Everybody’s finally beginning to realize that this is a state that can turn blue again,” Johnson said. “We’ve been what they would consider purple for such a long period of time, but we’re no longer going to be purple. We are going to lead the South and become a blue state.”