Polls

N.C. Republicans favor McCrory for Gov., Huckabee for Pres.

| Tom Jensen

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Governor_Primary_Graph Raleigh, N.C. – Even in an eight-candidate field of remote possibilities, Pat McCrory is the choice of his party faithful to repeat his challenge to Bev Perdue in 2012.  The race for President in the state, however, is, as most everywhere else, unclear, with Mike Huckabee barely ahead of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.

McCrory gets more than three times the support of the next candidate when usual Republican primary voters in the Tar Heel State are asked who they want to be their standard bearer in two years.  He pulls 37% in a slate of potential GOP gubernatorial primary candidates that includes current party chairman and former Raleigh mayor Tom Fetzer (12%), 5th-District Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (11%), 9th-District Congresswoman Sue Myrick (6%), former state senator and 2008 gubernatorial aspirant Fred Smith (4%), 10th-District Congressman Patrick McHenry (3%), Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry (3%), and incoming State Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (2%), with 22% preferring someone unnamed or not sure of their current preference.

President_Primary_Graph At the top of the ballot, Huckabee gets a quarter of the vote to Palin’s 21%, Gingrich’s 17%, Mitt Romney’s 10%, Ron Paul’s 7%, Tim Pawlenty’s 4%, John Thune’s 2%, and Mitch Daniels’ 1%, with 12% undecided or preferring another candidate.  Palin actually leads Huckabee, 27-24, among the 24% share of moderates, with Gingrich and Romney each at 12%, but Huckabee prevails overall because of his 26-20 advantage with the 72% who call themselves conservative.  Gingrich is likewise boosted by his 19% with them.

“At this point, Pat McCrory could go unchallenged in the 2012 Republican primary to face off against Bev Perdue.  He is already looking like the de facto nominee and can effectively spend almost the next two years raising money and his profile while Perdue governs,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.

PPP surveyed 400 typical North Carolina Republican primary voters from November 19th to 21st.  The survey’s margin of error is +/- 4.9%.  Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.

Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Newt Gingrich?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 63%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 21%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mike Huckabee?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 71%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Sarah Palin?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 65%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mitt Romney?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 49%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tom Fetzer?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 14%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 75%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pat McCrory?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 45%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 45%

Q7 Between the choices of Phil Berger, Cherie
Berry, Tom Fetzer, Virginia Foxx, Pat McCrory,
Patrick McHenry, Sue Myrick, and Fred Smith
who would you most like to see as the 2012
Republican candidate for Governor?
Phil Berger ……………………………………………… 2%
Cherie Berry……………………………………………. 3%
Tom Fetzer……………………………………………… 12%
Virginia Foxx …………………………………………… 11%
Pat McCrory……………………………………………. 37%
Patrick McHenry ……………………………………… 3%
Sue Myrick……………………………………………… 6%
Fred Smith ……………………………………………… 4%
Someone else/Undecided…………………………. 22%

Q8 If the Republican candidates for President in
2012 were Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Mike
Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim
Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and John Thune who
would you vote for?
Mitch Daniels ………………………………………….. 1%
Newt Gingrich …………………………………………. 17%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 25%
Sarah Palin …………………………………………….. 21%
Ron Paul ………………………………………………… 7%
Tim Pawlenty ………………………………………….. 4%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 10%
John Thune…………………………………………….. 2%
Someone else/Undecided…………………………. 12%

Q9 Would you describe yourself as a liberal,
moderate, or conservative?
Liberal ……………………………………………………. 3%
Moderate………………………………………………… 24%
Conservative…………………………………………… 72%

Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 44%
Man……………………………………………………….. 56%

Q11 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………………………………………………….. 8%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 28%

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