Monday, March 31, 2008

Richard Moore’s March Comeback

Richard Moore has made a March comeback.

Moore, the state treasurer, is now in a dead heat with Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue for the Democratic nomination for governor, according to a poll released today.

The results of the Democratic tracking poll, by the Raleigh firm Public Policy Polling, show that Moore has completed a remarkable one-month climb to get back into the race. At the beginning of March, Perdue was leading Moore by a whopping 27 points. Now, her lead is down to just a single point. Perdue received the support of 38 percent of likely Democratic primary voters surveyed, while Moore got 37 percent.

Both candidates have been running negative television ads over the last few weeks, but Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling writes that Moore’s ads have been more effective. Among voters who have seen ads from both candidates, Moore had a 45 to 39 advantage.

The poll also shows Barack Obama retaining a large lead over Hillary Clinton in North Carolina: 54 percent for Obama to 36 percent for Clinton.

Full results of the tracking poll are here (PDF).