(The Center Square) – New polling, same result.
Democrat Roy Cooper is leading Republican Michael Whatley by 14% in the race for the U.S. Senate according to polling by the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service at Catawba College. The candidates are vying to succeed Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, and Cooper’s lead just over two months ago is exactly the same.
The polling in conjunction with YouGov sampled 905 likely voters between June 1-10 and carries a +/- 3.83% margin of error.
The survey returned an approval rating of 43% and a disapproval rating of 54% for second-term Republican President Donald Trump.
“Cooper’s advantage is not simply a function of Democratic support,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, director of Catawba College’s Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service, which wrote and paid for the survey. “His lead is being driven by independents, who currently support him by more than 2 to 1 over Whatley. That independent vote can often be a decisive factor in statewide North Carolina elections.
“In addition, this year appears to be setting up as a classic midterm environment: a referendum on the president and his party. Cooper has a commanding portion of those North Carolinians who disapprove of the president, which is a majority of likely voters so far.”
As respondents identified themselves, 83% of Democrats chose Cooper to 10% for Whatley and 7% undecided; 72% of Republicans chose Whatley to 10% for Cooper and 15% undecided; and 50% of independents chose Cooper to 23% for Whatley and 23% undecided.
Absentee ballots go into the mail 10 weeks from Friday. Election Day is 19 weeks away on Nov. 3.
