Poll Watch: Two Tight Races in Early Stages
The first few general-election polls conducted after last week’s primary suggest that North Carolina’s top two statewide races could be close contests.
Of course, it’s very early; these candidates, just coming out of primary fights, still have six months of campaigning to do. But at this point, several recent polls are showing dead heats or nearly dead heats in the general election races for governor and U.S. Senate.
In the race for governor, Public Policy Polling shows Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Beverly Perdue in a tie, 45 to 45. One big boost for McCrory, pollster Tom Jensen writes, is that he is getting more crossover appeal than Perdue, who may have been hurt by her bruising primary battle against Richard Moore. Another poll, conducted by Rasmussen Reports, shows McCrory with a surprising lead over Perdue, 45 to 39.
In the Senate race, Democratic challenger Kay Hagan has been saying for months that Elizabeth Dole is vulnerable in November. Hagan starts as a clear underdog, but appears to making up ground quickly. PPP shows Dole leading Hagan by just five points, 48 to 43 — a much smaller margin than the 17-point gap PPP showed in its previous general-election poll between Hagan and Dole. And Rasmussen shows Hagan actually leading by a smidgen, beating Dole 48 to 47.
