A long line of people stood outside the library in Asheville, North Carolina, Thursday morning for the start of early voting, surprising Republicans and Democrats alike.
The unexpectedly high turnout across Buncombe County, a Democratic stronghold in western North Carolina that was devastated by Hurricane Helene, cheered the candidates and organizers monitoring the polling places.
But political observers and campaigns alike cautioned that it remains impossible to predict how the storm will affect turnout through Election Day or if either the presidential campaign or the political party will fare worse because of it.