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As his term nears the sixth-month mark, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's approval rating is at its lowest point so far.

A new poll finds 45 percent approve of his job performance and 39 percent disapprove, a slight decline from the previous month when 48 percent approved, according to Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh-based Democratic firm. The poll's margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.

But the Republican's +6 percent approval margin is his lowest, down from +10 in May and +26 when he took office in January, the survey found. "A big reason why McCrory won so easily last fall was a lot of crossover support from Democrats but that's dissipating -- in April he was at 31(approve)/ 53 (disapprove) with them, now it's 24/60," wrote pollster Tom Jensen in explaining the results.

McCrory's marks still remain better than the state legislature, according to the automated poll of voters conducted June 12-14.

UPDATED: DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PROBLEMS GROW: The head of the North Carolina Democratic Party is facing questions about credit card charges made during a March trip to a Las Vegas casino to watch basketball games with his old college buddies. Records obtained by The Associated Press show state Democratic Chairman Randy Voller made $3,327 in charges to Southwest Airlines and the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel on an American Express Business Gold Card embossed with his name and that of the North Carolina Democratic Party. He said he's paid off the balance in full. Much more to this story -- click here.

N.C. LAWMAKERS TO PLAY "THE OTHER CAROLINA" IN BASKETBALL: North Carolina lawmakers will challenge their South Carolina counterparts to a game of hoops Wednesday evening at Reynolds Coliseum. The game is the first in at least four years between lawmakers from the two Carolinas. Rep. Burt Jones, a Rockingham Republican who will coach the North Carolina squad, helped revive the tradition. “The games in the past were pretty competitive,” he said. (Scouting report below.)

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NEARLY HALF VOTERS CONSIDER SAY #NCGA CAUSING NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT: One of the more intriguing poll numbers in the latest monthly Public Policy Polling survey due out later today: 45 percent. That's the portion of voters who believe the N.C. General Assembly is causing the state "national embarrassment." The poll question comes after a number of hot-button legislative issues received national attention -- and ridicule. Another 31 percent don't think the state legislature is a blemish and another 24 percent are undecided. (More from poll below.)

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: No rest for the weary this week on Jones Street. The Senate appropriations committee meets at 8:30 to discuss its $20.6 billion state budget. Democrats will raise objections but no significant changes are expected. At the same time, the House Finance Committee will consider a major immigration bill that is drawing increasing fire from the ACLU and others concerned about Arizona-type provisions about stopping and detaining people who did not enter the country legally. At 11 a.m., the House Education Committee will get its first look at a new private school voucher bill. Senate and House floor calendars are light after crossover week's flurry, but the House will give final reading to a bill limiting tolling of existing highways.

Gov. Pat McCrory will meet with the Philippine ambassador at 8:45 a.m. in a private meeting and later attend a N.C. Department of Transportation luncheon. McCrory will speak to a group of under-45 CEOs as part of the southern chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization conference and travel to Charlotte this evening for a forum with the city's other current and former mayors.

***This is the Dome Morning Memo. Read more new exclusive PPP numbers below and get more insights into the state budget. ***

Gov. Pat McCrory remains popular in North Carolina but his Republican colleagues in state government and the legislature are underwater.

The governor -- recently named one of the most conservative in the nation -- received 49 percent job approval with 36 percent disapproving. Another 15 percent remain undecided, according to the latest survey from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

With his numbers holding steady for the past few months, McCrory is faring much better than Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue, whose neared negative territory about this point into her term.

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The voter ID talk continues today at 1 p.m. in a House committee after more than four hours of comments Tuesday about the topic -- but not an actual bill. (More on this below.) Other House committees will consider an immigration measure to restrict the use of Mexican consular documents and a bill to limit lottery advertising. The House convenes at 3 p.m. The Senate at 2 p.m. to take a final vote on the Charlotte aiport authority. A Senate committee will consider UNC Board of Governors nominations at a 4 p.m. meeting. Gov. Pat McCrory lists no public events on his schedule.

McCRORY JOB RATING HOLDS STEADY: The Republican governor's approval rating stabalized in the latest Public Policy Polling survey after a month in which his negatives spiked. The March poll from the Democratic firm put McCrory's approval rating at 49 percent with 35 percent disapproving. Another 16 percent remain unsure. Pollster Tom Jensen previewed the numbers Tuesday on News14's Capital Tonight program with Tim Boynum. Check Dome for more when the full poll is released later Wednesday.

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MORNING MEMO EXCLUSIVE: McCrory approval rating constant but disapproval spikes A new poll scheduled for release Wednesday shows Gov. Pat McCrory's negatives jumped 14 points higher than when he took office in January, with one third of voters disapproving of his effort so far. At the same time, the survey from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling shows his approval rating essentially level at 47 percent, after starting his term at 45 percent, within the margin of error. The movement suggests North Carolina voters with no distinct opinion of McCrory a month ago now shift disproportionately against him, a byproduct of governing and the Republican's early stumbles in office.

DEMOCRATS TURN, HIGHER ED COMMENTS VIEWED NEGATIVELY:McCrory started in a honeymoon period with Democrats with only 26 percent disapproving and 48 percent not sure. Now, half of the state's Democrats disapprove. His margin of support among unaffiliated votes also slipped a bit to 48 percent approving and 31 percent disapproving in Feburary. About one-third of all voters polled disapproved of the governor's controversial comments about higher education with 26 percent approving and 42 percent unsure. The gaffe alone didn't likely move the numbers too much, the poll suggests. McCrory's pay raises to his cabinet secretaries are much less popular with 82 percent disapproving.

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MORNING MEMO EXCLUSIVE: GOV. McCRORY'S POLL NUMBERS SLIP. A new Public Policy Polling survey finds the new Republican governor's approval ratings at 45 percent to start his first term, down eight points from a month ago. The new poll -- set for release later Wednesday -- suggests his cabinet picks may have pulled his popularity downward. Among those who know, 31 percent approve of his cabinet and 24 percent disapprove. Likewise, more people disapprove of McCrory's controversial picks Art Pope and Tony Tata than approve, though most people aren't sure about the two.

MORE PEOPLE UNSURE: The Raleigh-based Democratic polling firm found Republicans approve 73 percent to 6 percent, independents split 43 to 23 and Democrats even at 26 percent. All the numbers are lower than the previous month, with those people unsure what to think about McCrory on the rise. The falling numbers put his approval rate at the start of his term in the neighborhood of his Democratic predecessor, Gov. Bev Perdue. Four years ago, she started with an approval rating at 43 percent.

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Days after the legislative session ended, the majority of North Carolina voters disapprove of the General Assembly.

A new poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling shows 52 percent disapprove and 22 percent approve of the state legislature's job. Another one in four voters are unsure.

A Democratic firm released a polling memo on the day Pat McCrory enters the governor's race suggesting his major liability is being linked to the unpopular Republican legislature.

Public Policy Polling, based in Raleigh, shows McCrory with a significant advantage against a long list of potential Democratic candidates -- in part because "he has an unusual level of popularity with Democrats and independents," writes pollster Tom Jensen. (His favorability sits at 57 to 31 percent.)

But in a separate survey conducted for Progress NC, a liberal advocacy group, 57 percent of voters said they were less likely to vote for McCrory after being told he supported the state budget that led to teachers losing jobs. A similar result came when voters knew McCrory voted early childhood education cuts. The wording of the questions is, well, questionable -- but it provides a window into the efficacy of a line of attack against McCrory that Democrats are likely to exploit.

Gov. Bev Perdue's job performance rating continues to tumble with less than one in three North Carolina voters approving and more than half disapproving, according to a new poll.

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic survey firm based in Raleigh, found that Republican challenger Pat McCrory maintained his double-digit lead among likely voters in a hypothetical matchup, winning 52 percent to 41 percent, a very slight improvement from last month.

Perdue's 32 percent approval rating is her lowest since March, down 6 percentage points from November. Her disapproval is at 51 percent. McCrory's favorability remained essentially the same (down 1 percentage point) and his unfavorable numbers improved from 28 percent to 24 percent ahead of his expect announcement to formally enter the governor's race.