Robeson County, home to the Lumbee tribe, sees small voter turnout but strong support for Trump

Donald Trump received 63% of the vote in Robeson County. Screenshot from the North Carolina State Board of Elections
The campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris courted Lumbee voters ahead of the election, with both promising full federal status for the Native American tribe.

As polls closed Tuesday night, tribal people in Robeson County had spoken: Trump, a Republican, received 63.3% of the vote in the county, where the Lumbee tribe has its headquarters, according to unofficial figures from the state Board of Elections.

According to Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, Trump’s victory in Robeson grew by more than 4 points from 2020, making the county one of “the biggest movers toward Trump” in the state.

The increases contributed to Trump’s triumph in North Carolina, one of a handful key battleground states that catapulted him past Democrat Kamala Harris.

Robeson County, home to around 117,000 inhabitants in southern North Carolina, was a Democratic stronghold for decades but has progressively turned toward Republican candidates.

While this tendency has been seen across rural America, Robeson County has received national recognition for its diversity. Nearly 42% of the county’s population is Native American, while approximately 24% is Black.

Harris won only a few precincts in Robeson County, including south Lumberton and the communities of Fairmont, Red Springs, Rowland, and Maxton, which have considerable Black populations.

Trump won strongly in the precincts surrounding Pembroke, where the Lumbee headquarters is located.

Before the polls closed Tuesday, North Carolina political expert Michael Bitzer said on X that voter participation in Robeson might be critical for Republicans.

Robeson County consistently has among the lowest turnout rates in the state, which continued this year: approximately 59% of eligible voters in the county cast votes, compared to 73% overall.

In the weeks leading up to the election, the Border Belt Independent met with some Robeson County voters who claimed they grew up in households full of committed Democrats but now felt Republicans are more aligned with their views on immigration, abortion and other social issues.

Federal status for the Lumbee, the eastern United States’ biggest Native American tribe with 60,000 members, has been a political problem for more than a century.

Congress granted the tribe partial status in 1956, but has yet to provide full recognition, which would result in millions of dollars in health care, education, and other benefits.

Full federal recognition has bipartisan support, but legislation has often languished in Congress, including the Lumbee Fairness Act, which was proposed last year by North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis.

Some Native American groups, particularly the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, have opposed full recognition for the Lumbee, claiming the tribe lacks a common heritage.

Presidential hopefuls have seized on the issue, trying to secure vital votes in a rural region of North Carolina.

Trump conducted a rally in Robeson County few weeks before the 2020 election to energize Lumbee voters. He reversed the county four years before, after Barack Obama won Robeson in 2008 and 2012.

Trump did not visit Robeson County this year, but his son, Donald Trump Jr., hosted a rally on Lumbee tribe-owned grounds on October 18.

Former President Bill Clinton paid a visit to Lumbee Chairman John Lowery and other tribal members on the same day. Lowery also talked to Harris and Trump about federal recognition.

The following week, the tribe issued a statement noting that while it appreciated the attention, “the Lumbee People can’t be seen as a pawn on the road to the White House.”

“Senator Tillis and other NC lawmakers are working hard on the Lumbee Fairness Act,” Lowery said in a written statement. “Our people will be excited to see this issue finally corrected in the newly elected presidential administration.”

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