GREENVILLE, NC — Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Saturday it will be “very difficult” for the Trump campaign to win in November if it cannot hold North Carolina, a state that former President Donald Trump narrowly won in 2020.

“It’s very difficult for us to win if we’re not able to beat North Carolina,” the vice presidential candidate told reporters on the tarmac at Pitt-Greenville Airport after an unannounced visit to a college football game.

Vance predicted that his candidate would do well in the eastern and rural areas of the state, but stressed the importance of voter turnout.

“We just want to remind people to actually get out there and make sure their voices are heard, because we’re only going to lose this election if people don’t vote,” Vance said.

He noted that he thinks her chances of winning the state are “very good.”

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Vance’s comments. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vance was also in North Carolina for a fundraiser on Tuesday and met Trump in the state in late August.

Trump won North Carolina in 2020 with 49.9% of the vote, with President Joe Biden close behind with 48.6%. The state has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 2008, when Barack Obama defeated Senator John McCain by fewer than 20,000 votes.

A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in September ahead of Tuesday’s debate found that 49 percent of likely voters in North Carolina favor Harris, while 46 percent favor Trump. The results, which were within the poll’s margin of error, suggest a razor-thin race in what could be a decisive state.

Democrats are eyeing North Carolina as a potential election victory and are pouring millions of dollars into advertising to pave the potential path to 270 votes in the Electoral College.

Harris held two rallies in North Carolina this week, attracting a total of about 25,000 spectators at her stops in Greensboro and Charlotte.

North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper said in an interview with NBC News on Thursday that Trump’s campaign is “panicking” because “Trump has no other path to the presidency” that does not include the state.

“We did that in 2008. North Carolina voted for Barack Obama and made history,” Cooper said. “North Carolina is ready to make history again.”