Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is leading former Gov. Pat McCrory by 13 points in the North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary race, according to new internal polling.
Out of 510 likely GOP primary voters in the North Carolina, 44 percent of respondents say they would vote for Trump-endorsed Congressman Budd to fill retiring Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-NC) seat. Establishment-backed McCrory came in second with 31 percent support and former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) in third with 11 percent. Three percent of voters say they percent support Marjorie Eastman, and 11 percent of primary voters are undecided.
Club for Growth PAC released the poll on Wednesday, just a day after an Emerson College/The Hill poll showed Budd 16 points ahead of McCrory, 38 percent to 22 percent. Walker came in third at 9 percent.
“It’s clear that Ted Budd has taken the lead, and that voters recognize Pat McCrory is an anti-Trump RINO. President Trump’s rally this weekend will boost Budd’s momentum and remind voters that Budd is a principled and proven conservative endorsed by Club for Growth PAC and President Trump, while Pat McCrory has spent his entire career siding with liberals” Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh said of the poll results.
The top outside conservative group has used its influence to boost Budd’s campaign, spending millions on television and digital ads in the final months of the race—”literally salting the earth in the Tar Heel State in the home stretch to seal the deal for Budd,” Breitbart News previously reported. Club for Growth Action says it has spent at least $14 million on the primary.
The poll was conducted by WPA Intelligence on behalf of Club for Growth between April 3-5. The survey has a margin of error of ±4.4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.