A veteran Democratic strategist who helped deliver the party’s last presidential victory in North Carolina is urging donors not to grow complacent in the final weeks of Roy Cooper’s Senate campaign, according to audio obtained by POLITICO.

David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 North Carolina win, warned donors that the race remains difficult despite polls showing former governor Cooper leading Republican Michael Whatley. He described the contest as one of the best-run in the country but emphasized that the state’s relatively fixed partisan makeup makes it hard to expand a candidate’s base.

Plouffe noted that North Carolina has historically been a tough state for Democrats at the federal level, with the party not winning a Senate race there since 2008. Obama carried the state by fewer than 15,000 votes in 2008 and lost it in 2012. He argued that a Cooper victory could provide a blueprint for the party’s eventual 2028 presidential nominee, showing how a federal race can be won in a difficult state.

While Democrats have grown increasingly bullish about their chances of flipping the seat — one of four pickups needed to take control of the Senate — national groups have begun shifting money and attention to other contests, including Kansas. Senate Democrats’ top super PAC recently pulled back some spending in North Carolina, following a larger retreat by Republicans’ top super PAC in the state.

Plouffe cautioned that even if the party wins the race, it will not be easy, and donors must remain focused on the work ahead.