The state of North Carolina is uber-important to the Tennessee Volunteers on the recruiting trail and should only get more important in the coming years.

The Tennessee Volunteers are currently on a hot streak on the recruiting trail. They added commitments from Toombs County safety Lagonza Hayward and Derby High School tight end Da’Saahn Brame over the weekend, putting them at the No. 8 overall class in the 2025 cycle. They still have several important announcements in the near future, several from the state of North Carolina.

The Vols have been adamant about successfully recruiting the state of North Carolina for years, and as more blue-chip talent continues to come from the Tarheel state, the more Tennessee will spend its time within that footprint. They’re firmly in the race for Providence Day School offensive tackle David Sanders Jr., who ranks as the No. 2 prospect in the 2025 class. He announces his decision on August 17th, and the North Carolina native is quite high on the Vols.

Additionally, Grimsley High School quarterback Faizon Brandon decides between Alabama, LSU, North Carolina State, and Tennessee this weekend. The No. 9 prospect in the 2026 class also hails from North Carolina and is Tennessee’s top target at the quarterback position.

There are plenty of examples of future standouts coming from the state and past ones who’ve made an impact at the University of Tennessee – the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015 was North Carolina native Jaylen Wright, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the media ahead of fall camp and discussed why they continue investing so much in the state.

“It is a border state,” Heupel explained to media on Tuesday. “For us, we believe and look at it and view it as part of our footprint. We are intentional in how we recruit that state.”

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Enthusiasm is growing among Asian Americans in North Carolina.

With Kamala Harris stepping into the race and the potential for the country’s first president of Asian American heritage, it’s ignited excitement in the community.

“I’ve already participated in a half dozen Zoom calls about ways members of the Asian American community can help and turn out the vote,” said Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Democrat representing portions of Wake County.

Harris marked many “firsts” when she became vice president after the 2020 election: she was the first woman, first Black person, and first Asian American in that position. Her father is Jamaican and her mother is Indian.

Now she has the opportunity to become the first Asian American presidential candidate if she secures the Democratic Party’s nomination.

“What people are excited about is recognizing the historical significance of it, that her lived experiences as an Asian American and Black woman really bring a different, inclusive level of representation to the highest level of government,” North Carolina Asian Americans Together communications director Jimmy Patel-Nguyen said.

The organization is focused on channeling that energy into voter outreach efforts, as well as raising awareness and education about key down ballot races.

The Asian American and Pacific Islander population in North Carolina has steadily increased in recent years.

It’s grown 63.3 percent since 2012 for a population size of about 456,655 in 2024, according to AAPIVote — a nonpartisan group dedicated to strengthening civic engagement for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

There are roughly 235,900 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in North Carolina, marking a 55.4 percent growth in voter eligibility from 2012 to 2022.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up 2.97 percent of the electorate in the swing state. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump narrowly won North Carolina by less than 75,000 votes.

“It’s really important for us to acknowledge that major campaigns cannot ignore us anymore,” Patel-Nguyen said. “We are too consequential to elections — every election, local, state, and federal, where we’re changing the political landscape in North Carolina.”

The population is concentrated around urban areas. Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Durham, and Orange counties have the highest proportions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Nearly 60 percent of Asian American adults in North Carolina speak a language other than English at home, according to AAPIVote.

Along with low voter contact, language barriers have accounted for low voter turnout for Asian Americans.

“We do see the gaps when it comes to language access and communication,” Rep. Maria Cervania, a Democrat representing portions of Wake County, said. “We know that we need to continue that and more so now.”

That’s why groups like NCAAT work to make voting as accessible as possible. In the past, NCAAT has translated mailers into different languages and made an effort to reach out to voters in their native tongue.

Another issue is avoiding treating the Asian American community as a monolith. With so many different backgrounds and cultures, there’s a wide variety of views across the political spectrum.

“A majority of AAPI voters in North Carolina are registered unaffiliated,” Patel-Nguyen said. “We’re really independent thinkers who are voting on issues and not all party lines.”

Top issues vary for individual voters, but there are general themes.

Younger voters prioritize lowering the cost of living, protecting abortion access and reproductive rights, and making healthcare more affordable, according to a poll by NCAAT. Older voters are more concerned about crime and public safety, as well as the economy and job creation.

The Harris campaign has invested more money into more media than ever in order to reach Asian American voters, according to the campaign.

“In just the first week since Vice President Harris became the presumptive nominee of our party, we’ve seen a groundswell of support from AANHPI voters across North Carolina who are fired up to elect Kamala Harris as the first Asian American president in U.S. history,” according to Natalie Murdock, the campaign’s North Carolina political and coalitions director.

Read it at The New York Times