Raleigh, N.C. – Just nine months after defeating Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory in the race for Governor, Bev Perdue now trails McCrory by 14 points in a hypothetical matchup according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.
According to the live caller poll of 600 voters, if the election for Governor were held today, 46 percent of voters would support McCrory. 32 percent would vote for Perdue. 22 percent of voters were unsure.
McCrory leads among Republicans (80-7) and Unaffiliateds (45-28), while Perdue is only garnering a bare majority of her own party’s support (52-21).
“It’s pretty clear that many voters in North Carolina are now having buyer’s remorse,” said Civitas Institute Senior Legislative Analyst Chris Hayes. “Perdue’s $1.6 billion tax increase proposal and her handling of the budget crisis have cost her politically – so much so that even voters who overwhelmingly backed her are now not willing to voice support for her.”
When asked generically whether they would re-elect Governor Perdue only 26 percent of voters said they would. 55 percent said no.
“To have your numbers fall this quickly indicates a severe disconnect between the governor and the public,” said Hayes. “Nine months after the election a majority of voters wouldn’t give her another term.”
The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. For more polling information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
Full text of questions:
If the election for Governor were held today, would you vote to re-elect Bev Perdue?
Yes – 26%
No – 55%
Not Sure – 19%
If the election for Governor were held today and the candidates were Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Bev Perdue, for whom would you be voting?
McCrory – 46%
Perdue – 32%
Not Sure – 22%
Click here for full results and crosstabs.
The study of 600 registered voters was conducted July14-17, 2009 by Tel Opinion Research of Alexandria, Virginia. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.