Raleigh, N.C. – In our February poll for North Carolina, we find Pat McCrory in a close contest against Democat Roy Cooper for reelection in 2016. McCrory, who had been behind Cooper 48-41 in our September poll, now holds a narrow lead of 43-41. McCrory’s approval numbers have improved slightly from last month as well, with 39% of voters approving of his job performance and 44% disapproving. Cooper still holds strong favorability ratings, as 27% have a favorable opinion vs. 18% unfavorable. If Cooper secures the nomination, Independents stand to be a battleground: McCrory and Cooper split the group 36-36.

Nationally, Hillary Clinton leads all the Republicans we polled her against for the 2016 election. She leads Jeb Bush 47-43, Chris Christie 45-42, Mike Huckabee 48-43, and Rand Paul 47-44. These numbers do not show much change from last month’s poll aside from the Clinton-Christie race, which has flipped to Clinton for the first time in months. Clinton wins Independents in the hypothetical 2016 matchup 47-33.

As for the basketball matchup tonight, most voters are rooting for the Carolina blue to prevail over the Duke blue (41/27). Democrats, Republicans, whites, African-Americans, men, and women will all be rooting for Carolina, while those over 65 will support Duke. UNC-Chapel Hill still holds a good standing in the state, with 54% of voters agreeing that it is one of the best public universities in the country.

“A lot has changed in North Carolina over the last seven years but one thing remains constant,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Year after year we find voters in the state pulling for the Tar Heels over the Blue Devils.”

In the wake of Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl ad, Coke still leads Pepsi in the court of public opinion: 36% of North Carolinians have a more favorable opinion of Coke than Pepsi, as opposed to 34% who say the reverse. Coke’s lead is even larger when looking at the ever-important group of young voters: those 18-29 have a higher opinion of Coca-Cola by a 44-17 margin.

PPP surveyed 708 registered voters from February 6th to 9th, including 305 Republican primary voters. The margin of error for the overall survey is +/- 3.7%, and for the Republicans it’s +/-5.6%. 80% of interviews for the poll were conducted over the phone with 20% interviewed over the internet to reach respondents who don’t have landline telephones.

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

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Pat
McCrory’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 39%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Roy Cooper?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 27%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 18%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 54%

Q3 If the candidates for Governor in 2016 were
Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Roy
Cooper, who would you vote for?
Pat McCrory……………………………………………. 43%
Roy Cooper…………………………………………….. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q4 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Richard Burr’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 34%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 32%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%

Q5 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb
Bush, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 47%
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q6 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 45%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q7 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mike
Huckabee, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 48%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q8 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rand
Paul, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 47%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Coca-Cola?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 55%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pepsi?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 62%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 19%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%

Q11 Do you have a higher opinion of Coca-Cola or
Pepsi?
Coca-Cola………………………………………………. 36%
Pepsi……………………………………………………… 34%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%

Q12 Who will you be rooting for in the Duke-UNC
basketball game on Wednesday night?
Duke ……………………………………………………… 27%
UNC………………………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%

Q13 Do you think UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the
best public universities in the country, or not?
Think it is………………………………………………… 54%
Think it is not…………………………………………… 21%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q14 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q15 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 33%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 22%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 17%

Q16 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%

Q17 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 ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 27%

Q18 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 75%
African-American …………………………………….. 20%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%

Q19 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 65
or older, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 16%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 37%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 19%

Q20 Mode
Phone ……………………………………………………. 80%
Internet ………………………………………………….. 20%

Q21 Area Code
252………………………………………………………… 10%
336………………………………………………………… 16%
704………………………………………………………… 14%
828………………………………………………………… 13%
910………………………………………………………… 9%
919………………………………………………………… 17%
Internet ………………………………………………….. 20%