Trump-endorsed Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is leading his competitors by at least ten points in the North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary race, a new poll found.
Out of 593 likely GOP voters surveyed, 33 percent say they support Budd, 23 percent support former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), and seven percent support former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC). The WRAL survey was conducted by SurveyUSA from April 6-10 and has a margin of error of ±5 percentage points.
WRAL, which is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina, noted that none of the other 11 primary candidates scored above two percent, and a third of respondents are still unsure whom to vote for. The winning Republican candidate will need to garner more than 30 percent of the vote during the primary election on May 17 to earn the nomination and avoid a runoff race.
The station pointed to former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Budd last year, as well as the millions in funding from influential political action committee Club for Growth Action, as part of the reason Budd has significantly pulled ahead of his competitors.
“I’m glad to be up instead of down right now, but we all know we have a lot of work left to do between now and primary day,” Budd’s senior adviser Jonathan Felts told WRAL. “We’re moving fast and only accelerating with no plans on slowing down between now and November.”
Budd’s campaign was most likely strengthened even more this past Saturday, when Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson “threw his support behind Budd” at a Trump rally in Selma. WRAL said Robinson’s endorsement was a “particular blow to Walker” who has “often invoked his personal friendship with Robinson while on the campaign trail.”
“I would be disingenuous if I didn’t acknowledge I am somewhat disappointed by Saturday’s events, but I am undeterred,” Walker said in a statement to the station.
In an interview with WRAL on Friday, McCrory said he “no longer labels himself as the frontrunner” but believes the race with be “highly competitive.” McCrory, who is backed by outgoing Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) —one of the seven Senate Republicans who voted in favor of convicting Trump on impeachment charges in 2021 — also said his best chance of being nominated lies with moderate Republicans and registered unaffiliated voters.
“We don’t think it’s double digits,” McCrory said. “The independent vote is going to help determine this election. We think this election is going to be a dead heat.”
The poll falls in line with several other recent surveys that show Budd leading by double-digits ahead of McCrory and Walker.
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