Lt. Governor Bev Perdue (D) has closed the gap with Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory (R) in the race for governor in North Carolina, the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows.
Tar Heel voters now give Perdue a statistically insignificant 47% to 46% edge over McCrory.
Since March, the race has swung back and forth between the two candidates. Last month, McCrory enjoyed a six-point lead over the Democratic nominee. In March, Perdue led by three points. She also leads 50% to 35% among voters not affiliated with either major political party.
McCrory is viewed favorably by 59% of voters and unfavorably by 24%. Perdue's numbers are 52% favorable, 38% unfavorable. For both candidates, those numbers are a modest improvement from a month ago.
In North Carolina's presidential race, John McCain is up by just two points over Barack Obama in this traditionally Republican state.
In the state's Senate race, Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole has opened a significant lead over Democrat Kay Hagan.
Recently, Governor Mike Easely, a Democrat, proposed a tax increase on cigarettes and alcohol to help fund increases in teachers' salaries and mental health services in the state. Over half (58%) of voters support these tax increases, while 34% are opposed to the idea.
Easely earns good or excellent ratings as governor from 40% of North Carolina voters. A quarter (24%) of voters say he is doing a poor job.
Tar Heel voters by a substantial majority (70%) support drilling for oil off of North Carolina's Outer Banks to ease the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Just 22% are opposed.
Eighty-nine percent (89%) also believe that English should be the official languages of all government offices and services in the state. Just 6% disagree.
Rasmussen Markets data currently shows that Perdue is given a % chance of winning the election in November while McCrory is given a % chance. These figures are updated on a 24/7 basis by market participants.
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This telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on June 10, 2008. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
See Methodology.
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North Carolina Trends: McCrory vs. Perdue |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Date |
McCrory |
Perdue |
|
10/23/2008 |
51% |
47% |
|
50% |
46% |
|
|
43% |
49% |
|
|
46% |
47% |
|
|
45% |
39% |
|
|
42% |
45% |
|
|
38% |
42% |
|
|
Favorable Ratings for Gubernatorial Candidates in North Carolina |
||
|---|---|---|
|
McCrory |
Perdue |
|
|
Very Favorable |
25% |
23% |
|
Somewhat Favorable |
35% |
28% |
|
Somewhat Unfavorable |
23% |
24% |
|
Very Unfavorable |
11% |
22% |
|
Not Sure |
7% |
4% |
Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.
The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge™ Premium Service for Election 2008 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a Presidential election.
Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.
