North Carolina poll shows close races for White House, Senate

Quint Forgey
·2 min read

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is ahead by just 3 percentage points among likely voters in North Carolina, according to a new survey of the swing state President Donald Trump captured in 2016.

A Suffolk University/USA Today poll released Thursday reports that 46 percent of the North Carolina likely voters surveyed prefer Biden, while 43 percent favor Trump. Biden’s lead falls within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The slight, single-digit advantage for the former vice president is consistent with other recent public polling of North Carolina less than two months from Election Day.

Biden notched a 3-point lead in a CNN/SRSS poll published Tuesday, a 2-point lead in a Monmouth University poll published Sept. 3, and a 4-point lead in a Fox News poll published Sept. 2.

According to a RealClearPolitics average of North Carolina surveys conducted from Aug. 29-Sept. 14, Biden remains 0.9 percentage points ahead of Trump in general election polling.

Trump won North Carolina’s 15 Electoral College votes by 3.8 percentage points in 2016. The state has flipped between backing Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in previous election cycles.

Former President Barack Obama carried North Carolina in 2008, but lost there in 2012 to former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

The latest Suffolk University/USA Today survey also shows Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham with a narrow edge over Republican incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis.

The closely watched race is one of a handful in which endangered Senate Republicans are battling for reelection, and it could decide whether the GOP maintains control of the chamber.

Cunningham leads Tillis by 4 percentage points among likely voters, 42-38 percent.

The RealClearPolitics average of polling for the North Carolina Senate race, which includes surveys from Aug. 29-Sept. 14, shows Cunningham ahead of Tillis by 3.5 percentage points.

Tillis is widely regarded as one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans competing for another term in November, along with Maine’s Susan Collins, Colorado’s Cory Gardner and Arizona’s Martha McSally.

The Suffolk University/USA Today poll was conducted Sept. 11-14, surveying 500 likely voters in North Carolina.