Hurricane election impact/ 2024 presidential election hurricanes/ Harris Trump hurricane response/ natural disaster campaign issue/ voting after hurricanes/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Hurricanes Helene and Milton have disrupted the 2024 presidential campaign, forcing candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to shift focus to disaster recovery. As each side tackles recovery strategies, issues like federal aid, disaster response, and misinformation have become central in this election’s final stretch.
Election Season and Disaster Response Quick Looks
- Back-to-Back Hurricanes: Helene and Milton prompt voter scrutiny on disaster response.
- Campaign Disruption: Both Harris and Trump shifted schedules to address recovery.
- Leadership Under Scrutiny: FEMA resources and disaster aid highlight candidates’ response plans.
- Misinformation Issues: Trump criticizes federal support for Republican regions.
- Voting Logistics: Hurricanes complicate voting access in affected states like North Carolina.
Hurricanes Shift Focus in Final Weeks of 2024 Presidential Campaign
Deep Look
With just weeks until Election Day, the back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton have added unexpected challenges to the 2024 presidential campaign, forcing both Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican contender Donald Trump to pivot their focus toward disaster response and recovery. The storms have intensified scrutiny of leadership on natural disaster management, which has become a more routine expectation of the presidency amid increasingly severe weather events.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton disrupted the candidates’ schedules, causing both Harris and Trump to visit storm-impacted regions like North Carolina and Georgia instead of holding regular campaign events. As the Democratic nominee, Harris joined President Joe Biden at briefings and emphasized bipartisanship in recovery efforts, while Trump criticized the administration’s response and suggested, without evidence, that federal aid has been withheld from Republican areas.
Harris has presented herself as a leader in disaster response, participating virtually in national briefings while on the campaign trail and visiting affected areas. During a recent briefing alongside Biden, she underscored her commitment to preventing price gouging during the crisis. Harris took a strong stance against businesses that might exploit the disaster, stating that “there will be consequences” for those caught inflating prices at gas stations, hotels, and other essentials. Her involvement has underscored her leadership, with Biden jokingly referring to her as “the boss” in recovery efforts.
Trump, meanwhile, has used the hurricanes to question the current administration’s effectiveness, asserting that it has failed storm victims, especially in conservative regions. Speaking in Detroit, Trump claimed those affected by Helene in North Carolina “have suffered unjustly” due to inadequate federal response. He has used specific examples to press his criticism further, saying that the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of Helene was “worse than Katrina,” drawing a controversial comparison to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and led to intense criticism of then-President George W. Bush’s response.
The hurricanes have also created logistical voting challenges in several key areas. In North Carolina, the state legislature passed a law to facilitate voting for those affected by storm damage, allowing for additional mail-in ballot distribution and flexibility with polling sites in affected areas. Florida has also authorized similar voting measures in impacted counties, though Georgia rejected a federal request to reopen voter registration. This focus on voting logistics has highlighted the urgency of adapting voting methods to accommodate natural disasters.
As disaster response becomes more politicized, sociology professor Candace Bright Hall-Wurst points out that such events often place politicians’ actions, rather than victims’ needs, at the forefront. “Disasters become politicized based on their value to candidates, which can overshadow immediate relief needs,” she said.
Republicans have aimed to frame Harris’s hurricane response as indicative of broader “failed leadership” in crises, citing past events such as the Afghanistan withdrawal and border security. Trump’s campaign argues that Harris is “unequipped to solve crises,” according to his campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. Harris’s recent pivot to disaster response has also prompted discussion among political experts about the unusual role vice-presidential candidates have taken on this year.
Polling experts suggest that while voters tend to appreciate strong disaster response, these events may not be decisive at the ballot box, given the prominence of other issues like the economy. Carnegie Mellon University professor John Gasper noted that storm victims typically focus on getting help rather than debating political narratives. “These disasters test leadership at all levels, but with so many issues on voters’ minds, the impact might be limited on Election Day,” he said.
As both campaigns navigate the fallout from Helene and Milton, their responses could still sway undecided voters in key battleground states. With natural disasters becoming increasingly politicized, this unusual campaign season has underscored that crisis management is now an integral part of presidential responsibility, which is resonating with voters across the nation.
