Since their advent in 1960, modern televised presidential debates have always taken place in the latter days of the campaign — usually in October.

This year, things will be very different. The first of two debates between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will take place this Thursday, June 27 in Atlanta — in the heat of summer and prior even to the formal party nominations that each man will receive in July (Trump) and August (Biden). A second earlier-than-usual debate is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 10.

And in keeping with what has clearly been an all-out effort by the Biden-Harris campaign to capitalize on the momentum it senses it has gathered in the aftermath of Trump’s conviction in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payoff to a porn star, North Carolina — a state that Trump won handily in 2016 and narrowly in 2020 — has risen to become priority for the Democratic ticket in 2024.

It’s already been widely reported that President and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to the Raleigh area on Friday as one of their first stops after the debate, but Newsline has learned that the Friday appearance will actually serve as the culmination of a week of intense campaign activity in the state — one that commenced last Friday with an event highlighting the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling that ended the constitutional right to abortion and continued on Sunday with the opening of a Raleigh campaign office.

Among the events scheduled in the coming days, according to a campaign representative:

• Monday, June 24: Dobbs Anniversary Press Conference with U.S. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Congresswoman Alma Adams, and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles: On the day of the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, U.S. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Congresswoman Alma Adams, and State Representative Diamond Staton-Williams will join local leaders, health care providers and storytellers to campaign for President Biden and Vice President Harris and underscore the threat a second Donald Trump term poses to North Carolinians’ reproductive freedoms.

• Tuesday, June 25: Dobbs Anniversary Roundtable with State Representative Lindsay Prather, former State Senator Terry Van Duyn, storytellers, advocates and providers: North Carolina elected officials, providers, and advocates will hold a roundtable discussion to underscore the importance of this election in determining our reproductive freedoms.

• Tuesday, June 25: Campaign Reception in Charlotte with First Lady Jill Biden: Ahead of the debate and a rally in Raleigh with President Joe Biden, the First Lady will attend a campaign reception in Charlotte.

• Wednesday, June 26: Pre-debate press call with economists and business leaders about Trump’s threat to our economy: Economists and business leaders from across the state will hold a press call focused on the contrast between President Biden’s delivering for working and middle class families across North Carolina, ushering in the strongest economy in the world and bringing unemployment to historic lows, with Donald Trump’s push to slash taxes for his billionaire friends and large corporations.

• Thursday, June 27: Debate Watch Parties across North Carolina: The campaign will host 24 watch parties across the state with over 1000 attendees – with countless other North Carolinians hosting watch parties in their homes. Watch parties will serve as a way to fire up volunteers and demonstrate to voters the stark contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

• Friday, June 28: Immediately following the debate, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to North Carolina for a rally in the Raleigh area.

The representative told Newsline the campaign will also host more than 150 events across the state next weekend — canvass launches, phonebanks, volunteer trainings, and other events — leading up to Friday’s presidential visit.

CBS reports that Donald Trump, who has not campaigned in North Carolina since severe weather scuttled a planned Wilmington rally in April, has announced that his first post-debate campaign event will take place somewhere in the Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads region of Virginia — an area that is accessible to many residents of northeastern North Carolina.