Burke convention delegate says Harris can carry North Carolina

Morganton resident and Democratic National Convention delegate Grayson Barnett is looking forward to Vice President Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 22, in Chicago.

Barnett, along with 5,000 other delegates, thousands of media members, and more than 15,000 guests, dignitaries, and VIPs, are expected to pack the United Center to the rafters to see Harris officially launch her campaign.

“No question,” Barnett said in a recent interview, “it is going to be a historic evening and a historic speech. I think this will be the convention where the Democrats reestablish themselves as the party of the working class.”

Barnett explained that under Democratic Party rules, delegates to the National Convention are selected on a proportional basis for each state based on the state’s population and the number of votes for the presidential nominee in the previous election.

He is an at-large delegate. In total, 168 delegates will be representing North Carolina at the convention, and all 168 of them have already cast electronic ballots for Harris as the party’s nominee.

Barnett, 28, is the founder of Express Lane Strategies, a public relations and creative marketing firm that specializes in political campaigns and in support of organizations that support the environment and encourage political participation.

A native of Caldwell County, (“I grew up on the Burke County side,”) Barnett is a graduate of West Caldwell High School where he lettered in football, soccer, and wrestling.

A full scholarship athlete at East Carolina University in Greenville, Barnett later transferred to the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., 35 miles to the southwest of Chicago.

After serving as a staffer with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and as a legislative assistant to Sen. Kirk deViere in the N.C. General Assembly, Barnett returned to Western North Carolina to serve as marketing and communications specialist for Foothills Conservancy before launching his own business.

As he talks about the Democratic National Convention and the autumn campaign that will follow, the youthful Barnett overflows with a mixture of energy, ideas, and excitement.

“I’m a 10th generation resident of this area, and that means a lot to me,” he said. “My parents run a hardware store in Sawmills. I am definitely a product of the working class.”

Democrats at all levels, Barnett said, must hammer home the idea that their party will best protect the interests of working and middle class Americans.

“We’ve got to show back up in Burke County and around the region,” he said. “We need to reach the voters who care about public education, about protecting the environment, and about building a strong economy.”

Barnett said he has confidence in Harris’ ability to bring the party’s message home to ordinary voters and believes she will be aided in that effort by her choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“Walz is just about perfect,” Barnett said. “He’s a good old boy. He’s a hunter who supports gun ownership. He’s a former teacher and a football coach. And, he’s a swing state governor.”

Walz’s selection, Barnett added, helps defeat the notion that the Democrats are “the party of the elites,” and said the Minnesota governor can “connect with voters from all over the country.”

No Democratic presidential nominee has carried North Carolina since Barack Obama in 2008, who bested John McCain by some 14,000 votes out of nearly 4.3 million votes cast.

Can Harris stop that streak of three straight Republican victories?

“Absolutely,” replied Barnett. “You’re going to see an increased Democratic presence all over this state, and in Burke County. You’re going to see Democrats working their (tails) off to spread the word and get people to the polls.”

Barnett did make one final point before the interview concluded. Delegates, him included, pay their own way. There is no free ride.

“Yes, it’s up to me,” he said of the expense of getting to and from the Windy City and spending five days there. “That’s an investment I’m willing to make.”