Republican Sen. Richard Burr has increased his lead over his Democratic challenger Elaine Marshall to 16 points, according to a new statewide poll.
The latest Rasmussen Reports survey shows Burr with the support of 54 percent of likely voters, with Marshall backed by 38 percent of likely voters and 1 percent favoring some other candidate. Seven percent were undecided.
Last month, the Rasmussen Reports poll showed Burr leading Marshall by a 49-40 margin, reports Rob Christensen.
Rasmussen has shown Burr with a lead for most of the year except for shortly after the June Democratic primary, when Marshall's victory gave her a temporary bump, allowing her to pull even with Burr.
The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted on Sept. 8 by Pulse Opinion Research with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Burr's first TV ad had been airing a week when the poll was taken, while Marshall has yet to begin her advertising.
If there is any good news in the poll for Marshall – and there doesn't seem to be much – it is that her supporters seem more committed to voting for her.
The poll also found that 57 percent of North Carolina voters favor repeal of the new national health care law, while 35 percent oppose repeal. Burr opposed passage of the health care bill and favors its repeal, while Marshall was a supporter of the health care overhaul.
Seventy-one percent of North Carolina voters say the country is still in a recession and say the economy is the top issue.
Forty-four percent approve of the job that Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue is doing, while 54 percent disapprove.
UPDATE: The Marshall campaign dismissed the poll results.
"This is a right-leaning pollster, and an outlier poll at that," said Sam Swartz, Marshall's spokesman.
"After 16 years in Washington, public polling has consistently shown that North Carolina voters don't like the job Senator Burr's doing, and that Elaine Marshall is within striking distance."
Comments
WE CAN'T AFFORD ELAINE F. MARSHALL
September 13, 2010 - 11:45pm — NANASIXRegardless of what the polls show, the citizens of N.C. cannot afford to put Elaine F. Marshall in a senate seat. This woman has cost our state millions of dollars in lost revenue with her Malfeasance of Duty as Sec of State. I've researched her corporate records, and she has totally destroyed the records under her watch. She allows businesses to go years (up to 13) with no annual reports being filed. Then after I got on her back the first of the year, she started sending notices that should be automated in the computer system, most of those sent are for the wrong number due. There are double postings, going up to years after a notice is sent to Adm. Dissolve the corporation, etc. etc. There is litterly no end to what she's done while in office. When I asked the Atty Gen's office to invesigate what was happening and providing them multiple samples, I was advised it was his job to protect her...I thought it was his job to protect the citizens of N.C. I could go on and on, but won't, I will simply ask you to go to her corp/Div website and check the thousands of corp's shown as Current & Active, when they are many years in default with no filings. To me this is fraudulent information being provided the public and other businesses that could be looking up a business before making them a loan, or doing business with them. We cannot afford to put an individual that is so ignorant in a Senate Seat. Please think long and hard before placing a vote for this woman. If she's cost our state millions and millions in lost revenue, what could she cost our country? She has no management abilities or things that have happened, would have stopped a long time ago...she brags about her accomplishments, and there are none. I'd love the opportunity to have a face to face debate with her, and ask why she's allowed our state records to be destroyed? She should be charged criminally for her actions, or shall I say "Lack of Action" while on our payroll.
PPP is a Democrat Pollster
September 13, 2010 - 12:03pm — louisburgpatriotFor many years, Public Policy Polling has been producing inaccurate polls with hefty left-wing Democrat bias. Why on earth any news outlet takes their work seriously truly escapes me. It would be appreciated if the News & Observer and its affiliates (McClatchy) would NEVER publish a free-standing story or poll from PPP. If any coverage is given to these biased polls, a second poll from a reputable pollster is needed (Rasmussen).
Rasmussen is a Republican Pollster
September 12, 2010 - 7:49am — MalleusMaleficarumFor many years, Rasmussen has been producing inaccurate polls with a hefty right-wing Republican bias. Why on earth anybody takes his work seriously escapes me. It would be appreciated if McClatchy would never publish a free-standing story about a Rasmussen poll. If any coverage whatsoever is given to these fictitious polls, a second poll from a reputable pollster (Zogby of PPP for instance) would better serve the public interest.