Raleigh, N.C. – After his victory in the Democratic primary last week, gubernatorial nominee Walter Dalton is beginning to close the gap with Republican favorite Pat McCrory.
McCrory, who similarly secured his party’s nomination last Tuesday, holds a 46-40 advantage over Dalton after leading 50-35 in the first poll conducted between them in late January.
The shift in Dalton’s favor can be attributed to an improvement in his favorability. The Democratic gubernatorial nominee is viewed as favorable by 28% of voters, up from 17% in January.
Name recognition and favorability remained mostly unchanged for McCrory. Public uncertainty for the former Charlotte mayor dropped 8 points to 31%, while his favorability rose 3 points to 41%. McCrory’s unfavorability rose 4 points to 28%.
Some of Dalton’s fundamental voting blocs—Democrats, African Americans and young people—have not come home yet. 20% of Democrats have favorable view of McCrory, with 18% of Democrat pledging their support for the Republican candidate. Just 7% of Republicans support Dalton. Dalton and McCrory are even with young voters (age 18 to 29) at 41%, while 15% of African Americans support McCrory.
“Walter Dalton has erased over half of the lead Pat McCrory had on him three months ago,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “McCrory certainly still remains the favorite but it looks like this is going to be a competitive race and not the potential blowout it had the potential to be at the start of the year.”
Linda Coleman, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, holds a slight advantage over both potential Republican candidates Dan Forest and Tony Gurley. Coleman leads Forest 41-40 and Gurley 42-38.
PPP surveyed 666 North Carolina voters from May 10th to 13th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.8%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Walter Dalton?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 28%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 47%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pat McCrory?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 41%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 28%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 31%
Q3 The candidates for Governor are Democrat
Walter Dalton and Republican Pat McCrory. If
the election was today, who would you vote
for?
Walter Dalton ………………………………………….. 40%
Pat McCrory……………………………………………. 46%
Undecided………………………………………………. 13%
Q4 If the candidates for Lieutenant Governor were
Democrat Linda Coleman and Republican Dan
Forest, who would you vote for?
Linda Coleman………………………………………… 41%
Dan Forest ……………………………………………… 40%
Undecided………………………………………………. 20%
Q5 If the candidates for Lieutenant Governor were
Democrat Linda Coleman and Republican Tony
Gurley, who would you vote for?
Linda Coleman………………………………………… 42%
Tony Gurley ……………………………………………. 38%
Undecided………………………………………………. 21%
Q6 The candidates for State Treasurer are
Democrat Janet Cowell and Republican Steve
Royal. If the election was today, who would you
vote for?
Janet Cowell …………………………………………… 41%
Steve Royal ……………………………………………. 37%
Undecided………………………………………………. 22%
Q7 The candidates for Agriculture Commissioner
are Democrat Walter Smith and Republican
Steve Troxler. If the election was today, who
would you vote for?
Walter Smith …………………………………………… 38%
Steve Troxler…………………………………………… 42%
Undecided………………………………………………. 21%
Q8 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Bev
Perdue’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .31%
Disapprove…………. .57%
Not sure …………….. .11%
Q9 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 25%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q11 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 48%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 18%
Q12 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 73%
African-American …………………………………….. 23%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q13 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 16%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 36%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q14 Area Code
252………………………………………………………… 11%
336………………………………………………………… 21%
704………………………………………………………… 19%
828………………………………………………………… 12%
910………………………………………………………… 12%
919………………………………………………………… 25%
