By Josh Bergeron

josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Spending the week at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, only strengthened Dr. Ada Fisher’s enthusiasm for Donald Trump.

Trump is a better candidate than John McCain in 2008 or Mitt Romney in 2012, said Fisher, North Carolina’s Republican National Committeewoman.

A number of prominent Republicans have hesitated to issue full-throated endorsements of Trump. Fisher, however, says he’s a better candidate than the GOP’s past nominees because he appeals to a “broader base of people.”

“The Republican Party has to realize that we have moved beyond the agricultural base that used to exist,” Fisher said. “I think he is a different type of candidate who appeals to a broader base of people … This is the first time the Republican party has reached across party lines.”

Fisher, a Salisbury resident, talked with the Salisbury Post Friday about Trump’s appeal in the general election and the 2016 GOP Convention. She was the only Rowan resident who attended the convention. State Rep. Carl Ford, R-76, was elected as a delegate but decided not to attend for personal reasons.

“I think it went superbly and it laid out the map for us in the general election,” Fisher said of the convention.

She attended speeches and other events as part of the convention. Perhaps the most significant moment for Fisher was announcing the number of North Carolina delegates who voted for Trump.

Fisher was one of 18 African-Americans among the convention’s 2,000 delegates.

Wearing her Trump ball cap — with a Made in America tag dangling from it — she used her moment in the spotlight to shareT a bit of background about the North Carolina Republican Party for those who weren’t familiar with it.

“North Carolina is a party which was funded and founded by blacks and whites, and one of the points that most people don’t know about this state is that 10 percent of all the historically black colleges and universities are within its border,” Fisher said.

She then announced North Carolina would cast 29 of its delegates’ votes for Trump, who received the most of any GOP presidential candidate in the state.

As for Trump’s speech on Thursday — when he officially accepted the nomination — Fisher said he “blew it out of the house.”

During his speech, Trump mentioned a wide array of statistics to make a case for why America has gotten worse under President Barack Obama. Trump said he would make the country strong, proud, safe and great again. Fisher called it an accurate picture of America today. It’s been called a dark and angry speech.

Fisher says political pundits “misread the mood.”

She mentioned Trump’s daughter Ivanka’s speech as an example of bringing voters into the party who wouldn’t typically identify as Republican.

A speech earlier in the week by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who finished second in the presidential primary, drew ire from a number of people in the GOP for his non-endorsement. Cruz told voters to “vote your conscience .”

Fisher had a few negative words about the speech, but guessed it would help Republicans.

“I thought it was great for the party,” Fisher said about Cruz’s speech. “I felt that what it will do is actually unify the party behind Trump.”

Some worried that riots could occur at the convention. Fisher said security was never an issue. Some protesters made it into the convention, but didn’t significantly disrupt the event.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246