RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – With less than a week before North Carolina’s primary elections, Rep. Ted Budd’s lead over the field for the open U.S. Senate seat continues to increase.
A CBS 17/The Hill/Emerson College poll released Wednesday shows Budd’s lead over his Republican challengers has grown by four points since a similar poll was taken last month.
Former Gov. Pat McCrory, a challenger to Budd, lost six points since last month.
Budd holds 43 percent of those polled while McCrory has 16 percent.
The CBS 17/The Hill/Emerson College poll also asked about how important former President Donald Trump’s endorsement is to voters.
A majority of Republican voters, 61 percent, say they are more likely to vote for a candidate with Trump’s endorsement.
Trump has thrown his support behind Budd in the Senate race.
Fourteen percent of voters said Trump’s endorsement makes them less likely to vote for a candidate.
The poll also looked at how Budd and McCrory would do in the general election against Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley.
Budd leads Beasley 48 percent to 41 percent with 10 percent of those polled undecided.
This is the same margin from April’s poll.
Beasley leads McCrory head-to-dead 44 percent to 39 percent with 17 percent undecided.
“There is a gender divide in the potential general election matchup between Budd and Beasley in North Carolina. A majority, 51%, of male voters support Ted Budd compared to 39% supporting Cheri Beasley, while female voters are split: 45% support Budd and 44% support Beasley,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating sits at 45 percent in North Carolina with 49 percent of those polled disapproving of Biden’s job as president.
