North Carolina: Romney 51%, Obama 45%

Mitt Romney has cleared the 50% mark again in the battleground state of North Carolina despite the presence of the Democratic National Convention there little over a week ago.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely North Carolina Voters shows Romney with 51% support to President Obama’s 45%. One percent (1%) likes some other candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

North Carolina remains Leans Romney in the Rasmussen Reports Electoral College Projections. The two candidates remain close in both the daily Presidential Tracking Poll and daily Swing State tracking.

The race in North Carolina is little changed since  August and Romney has consistently held a modest lead in the Tar Heel State all year. In 2008, Obama became the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to carry the state.

Forty percent (40%) of North Carolina voters rate their personal finances as good or excellent, while 16% describe them as poor. Thirty percent (30%) think their finances are getting better, but 39% say they’re getting worse.

Voters nationally consider the economy far and away the number one issue as they go to the polls, and in North Carolina 52% of voters trust Romney more than Obama when it comes to handling the economy.  Forty-three percent (43%) trust the president more. That’s comparable to the  national average.

When it comes to health care, Romney has a 50% to 47% edge over the president in terms of voter trust. Forty-eight percent (48%) trust the GOP challenger more in the area of national security, while 44% trust Obama more.

Romney has similar modest leads in voter trust in the areas of taxes  - 48% to 45% - and energy policy - 47% to 45%.

How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leaderboard.

Sign up for The Rasmussen Reader, now just $24.95 for a 12-month subscription . Offer good through October 1, 2012.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 500 Likely Voters in North Carolina was conducted on September 13, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of North Carolina voters now approve of the job the president is doing, while 51% disapprove. This includes 34% who Strongly Approve and 45% who Strongly Disapprove. This is little changed from last month and in line with voter sentiments nationally.

Romney is viewed favorably by 54% and unfavorably by 42%, including 33% with a Very Favorable opinion of him and 26% with a Very Unfavorable one. This marks a slight uptick for Romney form early August.

The Republican leads by 11 points among male voters and is tied with the president among female voters. Most married voters favor Romney, while unmarried voters overwhelmingly prefer Obama.

The president has a four-point advantage among voters under 40, while the majority of older voters supports Romney.

Ninety-three percent (93%) of GOP voters in North Carolina and 15% of Democrats back Romney. Obama has the support of 83% of the state’s Democrats and seven percent (7%) of Republicans. Romney leads by eight points among voters not affiliated with either of the major parties.

In addition to North Carolina, Romney is ahead in Indiana, Montana and North Dakota. The president leads in Connecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. The presidential race is a Toss-Up in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Missouri,  Ohio, Virginia  and Wisconsin.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.