The neighbouring counties couldn’t be more different. Biden carried two-thirds of the vote last year in Mecklenburg, and Trump a similar percentage in Gaston. As such, the Democrats are putting huge amounts of resources into increasing voter turnout in Mecklenburg/Charlotte, which is a little lower than other counties.

Local Democratic Party chair Drew Kromer told TV station WCNC that he wanted Charlotte to be the Fulton country of 2024. Four years ago, Fulton in Georgia – which takes in most of the city of Atlanta – delivered enough votes for Biden to win the conservative southern state.

“This is the place where we have all the votes needed to flip this state,” Kromer said. “[We] need Mecklenburg to not just be blue, but to be dark blue.”

If Democrats are relying on the cities, the Republicans are counting on rural voters and those in what Americans call ex-urban areas on the city fringes. On the leafy, manicured streets of Gaston county, for example, Donald Trump has well and truly won the front lawn vote - every second or third home is marked with pro-Trump signs wedged in the fertile Piedmont soil.

The messages are simple. “Trump - Secure Border. Kamala - Open Border,” one says. “Trump - Low Taxes. Kamala - High Taxes.”

They’re messages that resonate with mother and daughter Iris and Alexis Houston as they emerge from Trump’s rally at Gastonia Municipal Airport, where he spoke behind large bulletproof glass panels.

“I really want a safe border. I want a decrease in crime in these cities. I want the prices of my food and gas and everything to go down,” says Iris. “My mum’s on social security, she complains about being taxed all the time. [Trump] says he will reduce taxes or eliminate taxes on social security. I want that for my future as well.”

Luke Pullin, a 19-year-old student from Georgia who attends the nearby Belmont Abbey College, said most of his peers at the Catholic liberal arts school were Trump supporters.

“I think a lot more people in my generation are getting polarised, either far to the left or far to the right. We’ve just ended up on the right side politically, and we believe, morally,” he said.

Although the US economy is performing well, with low unemployment and strong GDP growth, Pullin said Trump was rightly focused on people’s economic grievances after a prolonged period of high inflation.

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“Social issues are important, but most people can’t think about social issues when their wallets are empty, or they’re paying too high mortgages. Americans just want to be able to live manageable lives with manageable spending.”

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