Vice President-elect JD Vance on Friday surveyed damage from Hurricane Helene and talked to first responders in western North Carolina in one of his first public appearances since the November election.
The hurricane struck in late September and caused at least $53 billion in damage in North Carolina, according to a state government estimate. More than 100 North Carolina residents died from the storm, which the state estimates damaged over 120,000 homes, at least 6,000 miles (9,700 kilometers) of roads and over 160 sewer and water systems.
The incoming vice president and his wife, Usha, visited the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, where he learned that the building flooded with 4 to 6 inches of water and that roughly a dozen people got walking pneumonia as they responded to the hurricane's destruction. Power outages meant that some first responders could not talk with their own families for several days.
“At the height of it, I imagine y’all were working nonstop,” Vance said as he listened to a presentation.
By going to the Asheville area, Vance ventured into Democratic territory. More than 60% of voters in Buncombe County backed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, in November's presidential election. Liberal-leaning Asheville is known for its vibrant arts scene and the Biltmore Estate tourist attraction. The city’s arts district faced substantial damage from Helene.
But the majority of North Carolina voters supported President-elect Donald Trump, and he generally fared better among voters hurt by Hurricane Helene. The Republican gave a blistering critique of the Biden administration's relief efforts, which President Joe Biden characterized as “unAmerican” misinformation.
AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate, found that 26% of North Carolina voters said the hurricane affected their lives by damaging their homes, causing extended power outages or interfering with their ability to cast a ballot. Trump won 53% of those voters.
Vance has largely stayed out of the public eye since the election aside from shepherding Trump's Cabinet nominees around Capitol Hill.
State lawmakers have already allocated more than $900 million in disaster relief, but North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has sought at least $3.9 billion. The Democratic governor and other state leaders have now asked the federal government for $25 billion in aid.
Hundreds of miles of roads have been reopened and water systems are back online, but the work has been slow-going. More than 100,000 western North Carolina residents were told just two weeks ago that they could once again use water coming out of Asheville’s water system to bathe and to drink from the faucet. A destroyed water system in at least one isolated county could take years to rebuild.
Many Republicans and residents were critical of the initial recovery operations by the federal government and Cooper’s administration. Housing for displaced residents for the winter has become a concern, and some allies of Cooper have blamed GOP lawmakers for failing to provide grants to small businesses at risk of failing and housing renters faced with eviction.
