North Carolina has remained “stubbornly Republican”, said Greene. Barack Obama was the only Democrat to win the state in 44 years, and he only won it once, in 2008. But the state’s growing urban centres have tilted the political scales towards Democrats, who hope this is the year they can turn North Carolina blue.

The political world is still reeling from a CNN report that the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor, the current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, posted racist and explicit messages on a pornography web site message board more than a decade ago.

The Tar Heel State, where the GOP gubernatorial candidate is steeped in controversy, is a critical battleground in the presidential race.