RALEIGH, N.C. — Democrat Roy Cooper leads Republican Michael Whatley 54 percent to 40 percent among likely voters in a new SurveyUSA poll of North Carolinas open U.S. Senate race, a 14-point gap released Tuesday as early voting begins.
About 5 percent of likely voters were undecided and 1 percent backed another candidate. Green Party nominee Michael Dublin and Libertarian Shannon Bray are also on the ballot to replace Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who is not seeking reelection.
The television-partner poll was conducted Oct. 7-11 among 900 North Carolinians, including 643 who had already voted by mail or said they were likely to vote. It carries a 5-point credibility interval. Election Day is Nov. 3.
A separate East Carolina University survey released this week showed Cooper ahead 50 percent to 43 percent, the same seven-point margin that campus poll reported in September, while undecided voters fell from 14 percent to 6 percent. That survey found 55 percent of respondents named the economy and cost of living as their top issue.
Whatleys campaign said undecided voters remain in play and that the candidate has held nearly 400 events statewide from the mountains to the coast. Coopers campaign said North Carolina remains competitive and that it is still working to earn every vote after nearly two decades without a Democrat winning statewide federal office here.
Public polling has shown Cooper ahead for months even as analysts expected the race to tighten into a typical single-digit North Carolina finish. The SurveyUSA sample also found President Donald Trumps approval in the state at 37 percent and Gov. Josh Steins approval at 46 percent, with independents breaking for Cooper 59 percent to 28 percent.
Tillis left the seat open after clashing with Trump over last years federal spending package. Whatley has tied his campaign to the presidents agenda, while Cooper is pitching himself as a fighter for cost-of-living relief in a 50-50 state.
