Republicans have carried North Carolina in 11 of the last 13 presidential elections. Democrats Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama won in 1976 and 2008, respectively
from https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/north-carolina
Was specifically saying asheville and surrounding counties. Pretty sure that is areas hit hard. Could be wrong.
Buncombe County
Candidate % Votes
Biden
59.7%
96,515
In my experience, rural people tend to be more conservative than the city people. I think the rural areas got hit the hardest by the storm damage, especially mountainous areas. IDK for sure whether they were hit the worst but roads and bridges washing out, loss of power and no internet pretty much leaves them in isolation and dependent upon each other to survive until help gets through.
Aware nc generally goes red.