Biden to promote internet access in North Carolina, a state he hopes to win in the 2024 election

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is heading to North Carolina on Thursday to highlight $82 million in new investments that would connect 16,000 households to high-speed internet.

Biden’s re-election campaign has made winning North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes one of the top priorities in this year’s presidential election. The Democrat narrowly lost the state in 2020 by 1.34 percentage points to former President Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner in what will likely be a political rematch.

The Democratic president plans to use his visit to the state capital of Raleigh to emphasize his administration’s efforts to connect poorer communities and businesses to the digital economy.

Polls show the economy has been a weakness for Biden, reflecting the fact that inflation hit its highest level in four decades in June 2022. Since then declining inflation rates have not yet returned Biden’s approval ratings to the levels seen at the start of his presidency.

One way the government says it has lowered costs for families is by offering discounted internet service to 880,000 households in North Carolina.

The government is providing a total of $3 billion to build and finance internet connections in North Carolina. Government estimates are that an additional 300,000 state residents will have access to the internet by the end of 2026.