McCrory tops Budd in GOP primary poll of 2022 U.S. Senate race | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is David Bass.

Former Gov. Pat McCrory in 2017. (CJ photo)


    Former N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory is the preferred choice for the state's U.S. Senate seat in 2022, according to a Civitas Poll of likely GOP primary voters released Thursday, Jan. 13.

    McCrory, a Republican, leads the primary field with 24% of the vote, compared to 19% for 13th congressional district Rep. Ted Budd and 7% for former 6th congressional district Rep. Mark Walker. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed were undecided.

    The general election for the Tar Heel State's Senate seat is expected to be one of the most competitive of 2022 and could decide the balance of power in that chamber. The seat is open due to the retirement of incumbent U.S. Sen Richard Burr.

    In the poll, McCrory makes a strong showing in three of four major regions across the state, with 24% support in the Triangle, 27% on the coast, and 27% in Charlotte. The only area in which Budd comes out on top is central North Carolina, with 28% support. All four regions have a high undecided rate, ranging from 35% in the central portion of the state to 57% in the Triangle.

    "This poll shows that there are two very different paths to victory for the McCrory and Budd campaigns," said Donald Bryson, president of the John Locke Foundation. "Budd's path is more straightforward: He needs the field to narrow. McCrory, on the other hand, with better name recognition, needs his campaign to begin putting lead on target, specifically Ted Budd himself and core conservative issues like border security and election security."

    The results of the new survey show that former President Trump's influence in the race is strong but not overwhelming. Even with Trump's endorsement landing in June, Budd has been unable to overtake McCrory in the polls. Asked how Trump's endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate would impact their vote, 50% of GOP primary voters said they would definitely or probably vote for Trump's pick, while 37% said they would keep an open mind.

    Dr. Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history at Catawba College in Salisbury, predicted that Trump's influence will be a significant factor as the race heads into the home stretch.

    "I'd expect to see Budd publicize Trump's endorsement to the hilt -t hat's likely the type of GOP primary voter that will be out there," Bitzer told Carolina Journal. "McCrory's name recognition and previous runs certainly are a fundamental advantage to him, but my question continues to be how loyal will this GOP primary electorate be towards Trump?"

    Dr. Andy Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University in Raleigh, noted that half the Republican electorate is still undecided in the race. "There is plenty of room for things to change, clearly," he said.

    When it comes to a possible presidential primary in 2024, Trump remains the runaway favorite among Republican voters. Forty-seven percent said they would vote for the former president over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (19%), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (8%), or former Vice President Mike Pence (5%).

    The Civitas poll unearthed several other key data points. Asked whether the U.S. is headed in the right or wrong direction, nine out of 10 GOP primary voters checked "wrong direction." Eighty-one percent disapprove of the job that the U.S. Congress is doing.

    GOP primary voters also expressed concerns over election integrity. Asked, "Do you believe the November 2022 general elections will be free and fair?" 49% said "no," 21% "yes," and 31% were unsure.

    The poll was conducted by Cygnal and queried 600 likely voters Jan. 7-9.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )



Comment

( January 14th, 2022 @ 2:03 pm )
 
McCrory is on a downward path and Budd on an upward trajectory, something ignored by Civitas analysis. but then again Locke / Civitas are funded by Art Pope, who worked as McCrory's Budget Director, so they may not be exactly neutral. Locke's Bryson is delusional if he thinks McCrory can get away with running on border security. This is the same McCrory who as an early act in his one lousy term as Governor granted NC drivers licenses to DACA illegal aliens, contrary to state statute. Further, McCrory's appointees on the State Board of Elections did nothing significant to improve ballot security, so how can he credibly run on that?

Locke's press release also conveniently ignores that their own poll shows that Budd already beats McCrory if Walker leaves the race to run for Congress, which is likely.



Governor Cooper Announces Policy Allowing State Employees to Use Volunteer Days to Provide Support in Schools Carolina Journal, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Did You Know? How North Carolina’s Institutions Rank Among the Nation’s Top Colleges


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

A local wife began training to join her regional women's hockey team when she discovered the grand prize for winners of the National Hockey League is a Stanley Cup.
it is time to prosecture them for election interference
A Chinese national was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the bust of a massive marijuana operation in rural south Georgia last week.
Felon voting advocates argue in a new court filing that North Carolina's new election law should have no impact on their federal lawsuit.
That is one that was stopped how many weren't stopped
The game show “Jeopardy!,” in which gives contestants must give answers in the form of a question, embraced the woke agenda by including so-called “neo-pronouns” as an answer.

HbAD1

 
Back to Top