川普尋求在北卡羅來納州重建2024年選民支持

（第10段補上遺漏的「by」一字）(Adds missing word "by" in paragraph 10)

傑瑞特・倫肖（Jarrett Renshaw）報導By Jarrett Renshaw

路透北卡羅來納州夏洛特9月16日電——美國總統川普週三將在北卡羅來納州替共和黨參議院候選人邁克爾・沃特利站台。這是共和黨期中選舉大會後，川普首場大型造勢活動；他也將展開全國性行動，試圖讓2026年選舉成為對其總統任期的公投。CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will campaign in North Carolina on Wednesday for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, his first major campaign stop since the Republican Party's midterm convention as he begins a nationwide effort to make the 2026 elections a referendum on his presidency.

此次造訪正值川普尋求協助沃特利縮小民調差距之際。沃特利是長期共和黨政治幕僚，曾任共和黨全國委員會主席，目前在民調中落後民主黨籍前州長羅伊・庫珀（Roy Cooper）。The visit comes as Trump seeks to help Whatley, a longtime Republican operative who previously chaired the Republican National Committee, close a polling gap against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.

川普仍是共和黨基本盤中的強大力量，但沃特利也必須爭取北卡羅來納州龐大的搖擺選民與無黨籍選民。與此同時，共和黨正面臨民眾對生活負擔能力升高的憂慮，這已使川普在較溫和選民中的支持承受壓力。Trump remains a powerful force with the Republican base, but Whatley will also need to win over North Carolina's large bloc of swing and unaffiliated voters as Republicans confront rising concerns over affordability that have strained Trump's support among more moderate voters.

川普上週在達拉斯的大會上告訴共和黨人，「假裝我也在選票上」，儘管他本人並未參選。他已誓言在11月3日選舉前，前往多個戰場州與關鍵選區造勢。Trump told Republicans at the convention in Dallas last week to "pretend that I'm on the ballot," even though he is not seeking election. He has vowed to make multiple campaign stops in battleground states and districts ahead of the November 3 elections.

路透／Ipsos過去一週進行的民調顯示，川普支持率為35%，高於前次民調創下歷史低點的33%。在不分候選人的國會選舉意向中，民主黨以44%領先共和黨的37%，這是川普2025年1月重返白宮以來，民主黨在路透／Ipsos系列民調中取得的最大領先幅度。A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the past week found Trump's approval rating at 35%, up from a record-low 33% in the previous poll. Democrats led Republicans 44% to 37% on the generic congressional ballot, the widest Democratic advantage in the Reuters/Ipsos series since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

燃料價格也加劇了生活負擔能力的挑戰。根據美國汽車協會（AAA），週二全美普通汽油平均價格為每加侖4.33美元，柴油則達到創紀錄的6.27美元。Fuel prices have added to the affordability challenge. The national average for regular gasoline was $4.33 a gallon on Tuesday, while diesel reached a record $6.27, according to AAA.

在共和黨籍參議員湯姆・堤里斯（Thom Tillis）決定不尋求連任後，北卡羅來納州這場參議院選舉成為開放席次；堤里斯與川普發生爭執，導致他在黨內的勝選機會破滅。依隆大學（Elon University）近期民調顯示，在可能投票選民中，庫珀以49%領先沃特利的38%；該調查中，54%的北卡羅來納州選民不認可川普的施政表現，31%表示認可。The North Carolina Senate race is open after Republican Senator Thom Tillis decided not to seek reelection amid a squabble with Trump that doomed his chances within the party. Cooper led Whatley 49% to 38% among likely voters in a recent Elon University poll, while 54% of North Carolina voters in the survey disapproved of Trump's job performance and 31% approved.

白宮暗示，川普將利用北卡羅來納州這場活動強調其政府在犯罪議題上的政績；這也是沃特利競選活動中反覆出現的主題。The White House signaled that Trump will use the North Carolina event to highlight his administration's record on crime, a recurring theme in Whatley's campaign.

沃特利仍需努力鞏固2024年支持川普的選民。依隆大學8月民調發現，在表示曾支持川普的選民中，72%支持沃特利，10%支持庫珀，14%尚未決定。相較之下，庫珀吸引了93%表示曾投票給賀錦麗（Kamala Harris）的選民。Whatley has work to do consolidating voters who backed Trump in 2024. An August Elon University poll found that 72% of voters who said they backed Trump supported Whatley, while 10% backed Cooper and 14% were undecided. Cooper, by comparison, was capturing 93% of voters who said they voted for Kamala Harris.

依隆大學民調主任、政治學教授傑森・哈瑟（Jason Husser）說：「川普在2024年大約贏了3個百分點，主要是因為那些獨立選民認為，他在處理經濟方面會比賀錦麗更好。但他讓他們失望了。他們並沒有說經濟表現很好，而且常常把他的政策指為原因。」"Trump wins by roughly three points in '24, largely because those independents decided that he was going to be better at handling the economy than Harris," said Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll and a political science professor. "But he's disappointed them. They're not saying the economy is going great, and oftentimes they're pointing to his policies as reasons for it."

無黨籍選民約占北卡羅來納州登記選民的40%，是該州最大的登記選民群體。Unaffiliated voters account for roughly 40% of North Carolina's registered electorate, making them the state's largest registration bloc.

資深共和黨策略人士、堤里斯前顧問保羅・舒梅克（Paul Shumaker）說：「如果無法贏得無黨籍選民，就不可能在這個州勝選，這在數學上說不通。我們共和黨人必須了解，必須處理生活負擔能力問題；從現在到11月之間，我們也必須能讓無黨籍選民在經濟與生活負擔能力方面安心，參議院選戰才會繼續有得打。」"It's mathematically impossible to win the state without winning unaffiliated voters," said veteran Republican strategist Paul Shumaker, a former adviser to Tillis. "We Republicans have to understand that we have to address the affordability issue, and we have to be able to put unaffiliated voters' minds at ease as it relates to the economy and affordability between now and November for the Senate race to remain in play."

民主黨正試圖讓這場選戰成為對川普及其政策的公投。Democrats are seeking to make the race a referendum on Trump and his policies.

北卡羅來納州民主黨主席安德森・克萊頓（Anderson Clayton）說：「沃特利已經把自己和川普綁在一起；考量到民調，我不會這麼做。」"Whatley has tied himself to Trump and, given the polls, I would not be doing that," said North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton.

（唐娜・布萊森與林肯・費斯特編輯）(Editing by Donna Bryson and Lincoln Feast)