East Carolina University’s Center for Survey Research released its recent election poll, showing just how contentious the presidential race is in North Carolina.
With Election Day under a month away, eyes are on North Carolina as a major swing state. The director of ECU’s Center for Survey Research and professor of political science, Dr. Peter Francia, said this is his third cycle doing election polling, and the results from the center’s latest presidential election poll are looking familiar.
“I think the takeaway is that the 2024 election is starting to look more like 2020 than 2016, and Kamala Harris’s entry into the race really changed that.”
The ECU poll shows Harris having strong support among key demographics, such as African American voters and women. And Trump has a commanding 34-point lead among white voters in North Carolina.
“Pollsters don’t make predictions about elections, they provide estimates.”
And Francia said these estimates are a valuable public service to communities across North Carolina, especially as Election Day nears.
“But it’s still so close right now again in our poll, at 49% Trump and 47% Harris. The race is really up for grabs.”
Francia said the poll reflected a small percentage of undecided voters, so the dynamics of the race will be heavily swayed by key issues like inflation, abortion, and public safety, which could drive voter engagement for new demographics in each party.
“The race, I think, will be determined less by undecided voters, because there are so few of them, and more about voter turnout. Which party can really get their people to the polls.”
Francia said more polling results are coming next week as the presidential race gets closer and closer.