A poll shows Jim Neal trailing U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole by 15 percentage points.
The survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling puts the Chapel Hill investment banker at 32 percent and the incumbent senator at 47 percent. Twenty-one percent were undecided.
Pollsters say that Neal, a political newcomer, got similar ratings to other Democrats they have tested who did not have statewide recognition.
It also showed a 44 percent approval rating for Dole's performance.
The survey was done Monday, two days after Neal announced he was gay on BlueNC, but just as the mainstream news media picked up the story.
The poll, of 601 likely general election voters, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.95 percent.
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