McCrory would easily win rematch

Republican Pat McCrory would easily defeat Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue in a rematch of their 2008 election, according to a new survey.

McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor, would defeat Perdue by a 49-37 percent margin, according to a survey conducted by Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh-based firm with Democratic leanings. (Perdue defeated McCrory by a 50 to 47 percent margin in 2008.)

Perdue also trails N.C. Republican Chairman Tom Fetzer by a 42-40 percent margin, according to the poll..

Perdue, a Democrat, trails the Republicans because she has poor job approval ratings. Only 33 percent approve of the job she is doing while 49 percent disapprove, the poll found. While most people have forgotten who McCrory is, those who do remember him have a positive view. He is viewed favorably by 34 percent and unfavorably by only 20 percent.

Perdue has really lost ground among independents. She trailed McCrory by 7 percent among independents in 2008 in PPP's final poll, but now trails him by a 58-27 percent margin among independents.

The spin: Dean Debnam, president of the polling firm: “2012 is a long way away and Bev Perdue has plenty of time to strengthen her position. But it's clear she's going to have to pick up a lot of  ground with independents and the more conservative wing of her party over the next two years to win a second term.”

The poll surveyed 517 North Carolina voters from Nov. 19 to 21. the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent points.