Trump tops Harris by 2 points in battleground North Carolina survey
Former President Trump leads Vice President Harris among likely voters in North Carolina by two percentage points, according to a new poll.
The latest East Carolina University (ECU) survey, conducted last month, shows Trump getting 49 percent support in the state, compared to Harris’s 47 percent. Another 2 percent of likely voters remain undecided, while 2 percent say they plan to vote for a different candidate.
The results are little changed from the previous poll, conducted in late August, when Trump led Harris by 1 point — 48 percent to 47 percent. Both results are not statistically significant, since they fall within the margins of error.
Both candidates have focused on North Carolina, as the state is viewed as critical to both campaigns to surpass the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win the election. It is one of seven battleground states whose closely divided electorate puts it within reach for either candidate to pick up ahead of Election Day.
North Carolina has 16 electoral votes and was the only swing state in 2020 to support the former president's election bid. The other six went for President Biden.
Tar Heel State voters last backed a Democrat for president in 2008, when former President Obama ran against the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Recent polling shows Trump and Harris neck-and-neck in the state. A survey published last week from Elon University and YouGov shows Harris with a 1-point lead over Trump. A CNN poll released last Friday had the two candidates exactly tied, with 48 percent support for each candidate.
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ's polling average in North Carolina shows Trump leading Harris by 0.5 percentage points, or 48.5 percent to 48 percent.
In the latest ECU poll, Harris sees her lead grow among women, while the former president's lead grows among men. The vice president also maintains her lead among Black voters, while Trump maintains his lead among white voters.
Harris now leads Trump among women by 9 points, 53 percent to 44 percent, up from her 5-point lead in August, the survey found. Trump, meanwhile, leads his Democratic opponent among men by 16 points, 56 percent to 40 percent, an increase from his 9-point lead in August.
Among Black voters, Harris leads Trump, 90 percent to 7 percent, while Trump leads among white voters, 66 percent to 32 percent, according to the poll.
The latest ECU survey, conducted Sept. 23-26, included 1,005 respondents and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.