Democrats in North Carolina are taking a localized, community-based approach to incentivize voters to turn out in the 2024 election.

Fox News Digital spoke with the North Carolina Democratic Party about their ground game this cycle, which they say is focused on local messaging and running a campaign in every corner of the state.

“Folks are responding to the fact that we are taking a careful, thoughtful, community, place-based approach to everything we’re doing,” Jonah Garson, first vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, told Fox in an exclusive interview. “The North Carolina Democratic Party has built an organizing machine that’s running everywhere, giving folks, people in their own communities, people to vote for who are present in committees, who people see, who people know.”

The Old North State is one of the key battleground states in presidential elections, and Garson believes that it is the ground game that will have the greatest impact at the polls.

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“We are staying focused on running a great ground game because we know it’s not salacious headlines or magic abracadabra on a TV commercial that will win battleground North Carolina,” he said. “It’s going to be the work that North Carolinians do on the ground and at the doors and on the phones.”

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The Democratic Party has been actively working on their 2024 ground game for the past two years, and expect to have reached over a million people through combined canvassing efforts in the state come Election Day.

“You cannot just expect to have direct voter contact in the last few months of the election to reach people. It takes sort of a ramp and scale operation over time that’s thoughtful,” Garson said.

Absentee ballots are prepared to be mailed at the Wake County Board of Elections on Sept. 17, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

The party is also focusing on reaching people across all parties, not just Democratic voters.

“In North Carolina there’s a ton of work to do among registered Dems and registered unaffiliated whose values are aligned with the Democratic Party, which is a big tent party. I mean, we have all sorts of moderates and progressives and conservatives all in this party at this point, but who may or may not vote because they frankly feel alienated by the process or disgusted by what they’re seeing out of the process,” he said. “And it is about very personal, very honest conversations with people.”

Garson told Fox that after speaking with voters across the state, most North Carolinians are concerned about being able to thrive in their home communities moving forward.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has brought severe flooding to the southeast.

With excess water in the home, there’s an increased risk of mold growth, which can lead to serious health risks.

Mold in your home can look like multicolored spots and can smell musty, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Mold can cause a variety of symptoms, such as stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, wheezing, burning eyes and skin rash.

In an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel noted that wet walls can lead to mold that might not always be visible.

Siegel called out two “very serious molds” that he’s most worried about: black mold and aspergillus.

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Black mold can appear as black or dark green splotches, Siegel detailed.

Aspergillus is invasive and can cause aspergillosis, an infection that’s usually respiratory, according to Mayo Clinic.

Aspergillus mold is invasive and can cause a respiratory infection called aspergillosis, according to experts. (iStock)

Both molds can provoke allergy symptoms and infections, as well as conditions like hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an allergic reaction that causes inflammation in the lungs, according to Siegel.

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Mold can also trigger breathing conditions like emphysema or asthma, the doctor added.

“I’m worried about people who are immunocompromised and have chronic illnesses,” he said.

For those experiencing allergy symptoms, like coughing and sneezing, the culprit could be mold, the doctor said. (iStock)

“It can be fatal if you’re immunocompromised or if you’ve had a transplant — you can get a severe case of infection from mold.”

People with conditions like chronic lung disease can develop an infection in the lungs, the CDC stated.

How to remedy mold

Mold can develop in as little as 24 hours, Cleveland Clinic experts reported in a news release.

The sooner water damage is cleared up, the less risk there is for mold to grow, according to Maeve MacMurdo, MD, a pulmonologist for Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

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“Obviously, the sooner the better, and it’s hard,” she said in the release. “People are dealing with a lot, but cleaning up the water and mold remediation is a really big part of it.”

For those who have regained power in their home, Siegel recommends plugging in a dehumidifier or air conditioner to dry out the space.

“Even if it’s cool outside, you want air-conditioning because you want to get rid of the humidity,” he said. “The humidity is where mold grows.”

Employees clean up the International Moulding frame shop in Morganton, North Carolina, which was damaged by flood water from Hurricane Helene in September 2024. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

The doctor also recommends using bleach or vinegar to wipe down mold spots on walls – or hiring a professional to detect and remove mold.

“There are professional organizations that can spot the mold that’s hiding in the nooks and crannies,” Siegel said.

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For mold prevention, the CDC recommends keeping humidity levels at no higher than 50% in the home.

Air should “flow freely,” helped by exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom, according to the same source.

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Fixing leaks in the roof, walls and plumbing will help ensure that no moisture in the home turns into mold, experts advise.

Some may choose to hire a professional service to detect and remove mold. (iStock)

The CDC also recommends not using carpet in rooms where there is more moisture, such as bathrooms and basements, and replacing carpets and upholstery that have been soaked.

When cleaning mold spots, never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners, the agency warned, as this will produce a poisonous gas.

The CDC warned never to mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners, as this will produce a poisonous gas. (iStock)

It is best practice to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the bleach container’s label, open windows to provide fresh air, and wear rubber boots, gloves and goggles during cleanup, experts advise.

People with persistent symptoms should seek medical attention, MacMurdo urged. While the flu season will bring temporary viruses, mold symptoms will continue to linger.

Archaeologists have discovered surprising new details about the oldest tombstone in the United States, which dates back nearly 400 years.

The 1627 tombstone was set up in the Jamestown settlement and belonged to an English knight. But what exactly the tombstone was made of – and where it came from – stumped experts until now.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology in September, the stone was not North American in origin.

The study, which is titled “Sourcing the Early Colonial Knight’s Black ‘Marble’ Tombstone at Jamestown, Virginia, USA,” argues that the black limestone actually came from Europe – and sheds light on the trade routes of the time.

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“In seventeenth-century Virginia, USA, one of the ways affluent English colonists exhibited their wealth and memorialized themselves was with engraved tombstones,” the article states. “Wealthy colonists in the Tidewater region of the Chesapeake Bay at this time preferentially selected black ‘marble’ for their gravestones that was actually polished, fine-grained, black limestone.”

“The iconic knight’s tombstone at Jamestown is one such stone.”

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The tombstone dates back to 1627 and belonged to a knight, historians say. (Preservation Virginia)

Rather than being made of a fossil found in the region, the limestone was likely transported from Belgium.

“This supports the conclusions above for transatlantic trade routes from continental Europe to Jamestown,” the study said. “These were undoubtedly not direct, but through London.”

Jamestown, not far from Williamsburg, Virginia, remains a popular tourist attraction. (Getty Images)

“We hypothesize it was quarried and cut to size in Belgium, shipped down the Meuse River, across the English Channel to London where it was carved and the brass inlays installed, and finally shipped on to Jamestown as ballast,” the study concluded. “This trade route was a small piece of the rapidly expanding Atlantic world of geopolitical colonial trade.”

Historians have not definitively concluded who the grave belonged to, but the study said it most likely belonged to Sir George Yeardley, who was the governor of Virginia at the time of his death in 1627.

The Jamestown settlement was the first permanent English settlement in North America, following the failed Roanoke Colony. (Getty Images)

“Assuming the knight’s tombstone was George Yeardley’s, then it is the oldest black ‘marble’ tombstone in the Chesapeake Bay region, and may be the oldest surviving tombstone in America,” the study said. “It is the only known tombstone in the English colonies with engraved monumental brass inlays.”