North Carolina: Trump 48%, Biden 47%

President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are running neck and neck in the battleground state of North Carolina.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone and online survey of Likely Voters in North Carolina finds Trump edging Biden 48% to 47%. Two percent (2%) like some other candidate, and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Factor in those who haven’t made up their minds yet but are leaning toward one candidate or the other, and Trump still has a one-point 49% to 48% lead.

In 2016, Trump won nearly 50% of the vote in North Carolina, beating Democrat Hillary Clinton by almost four points.

Ninety-two percent (92%) of voters in the Tar Heel State have already made up their minds whom they’re going to vote for. Trump leads 50% to 48% among this group.

Among the 47% who say they have already voted, however, Biden has a 14-point lead – 55% to 41%.

Ninety-four percent (94%) say they are definitely going to vote, and Trump has a 49% to 47% advantage among this group.

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The survey of 800 Likely Voters in North Carolina was conducted October 20-21, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Biden holds just a three-point lead nationally over Trump in Rasmussen Reports’ latest weekly White House Watch survey. Two weeks ago, he was ahead by 12.

Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters in North Carolina consider Trump’s overall job performance the most important issue in the election. Just as many (31%) rate the economy first in importance. Other issues don’t come close as far as the state’s voters are concerned: public safety (12%); national security (7%); the environment (6%); illegal immigration (4%) and something else (4%).

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters who see Trump’s job performance as most important are voting for Biden. Among those who put the economy first, 66% choose the president.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of North Carolina voters approve of the job Trump is doing, while 47% disapprove. This includes 44% who Strongly Approve and 39% who Strongly Disapprove. Trump’s job approval in the state is comparable to number nationally in Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking poll.

Democratic Governor Roy Cooper earns 55% approval, with 32% who Strongly Approve. Forty-two percent (42%) disapprove of the governor’s job performance, including 29% who Strongly Disapprove.

Slightly more than half of voters nationwide still say they are more likely to vote against Trump, a finding that hasn’t changed in a year of regular surveying.

Eighty percent (80%) of those who plan to vote for Biden are likely to vote early, compared to 46% of those who support Trump.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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