Poll: Ted Budd Narrowly Leads Cheri Beasley in North Carolina U.S. Senate Race

Trump-endorsed Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is narrowly leading his Democrat competitor Cheri Beasley in the race to fill retiring North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr’s (R) U.S. Senate seat, a poll released on Thursday found.

The poll found 43.6 percent of voters would vote for Budd, compared to 41.8 percent for Beasley in the November general election, a much closer margin than previous polling that showed Budd eight points ahead. The Civitas Poll, conducted by Cyngal, surveyed 600 likely general election voters on May 21–22, and it has a margin of error of ±3.95 percent.

“North Carolina is a perennial battleground state for presidential and Senate races, and this year will be no different, looking at this poll,” John Locke Foundation President Donald Bryson said. “While Ted Budd is in a strong position in this poll, he still trails Republicans on the generic ballot test by a few points, and it’s a long contentious journey to November.”

Budd, who currently represents the state’s 13th Congressional District, leads Beasley 50 percent to 37 percent among men. Beasley, who is the former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, leads Budd 46 percent to 39 percent among women. Beasley’s support from women differs from the results of an ECU Center for Survey research poll from earlier this week showing Budd leading with women 44 percent to 40 percent.

The Civitas poll also shows Budd leading with voters under 35 years old, voters 35 to 49, and those from 50 to 64, with Beasley leading with voters 65 and older. Those results varied from the ECU poll, which found Budd holding an advantage over Beasley in every age category except for voters under 40 years old, where Beasley led 41 percent to 37 percent.

The survey shows Budd leading Beasley among coastal voters (46 percent to 40 percent), in central North Carolina (48 percent to 37 percent), and from Charlotte to the west (45 percent to 42 percent). Beasley has more support from voters in the Raleigh/Durham area (46 percent to 38 percent).