Poll: Put GOP in charge

Voters would rather Republicans run the show at the legislature, according to a poll released this week by the conservative Civitas Institute.

Of those surveyed, 40.7 percent said they would vote for a Republican legislator if the election were held today, compared to 37.8 percent for a Democrat. And 21.5 percent were undecided.

The poll's margin of error is 4 percent.

Civitas said it was only the second time in four-and-a-half years of polling that Republicans received more support in the poll. The previous such result was in March 2006, just after the State Board of Elections finished hearings on then-House Speaker Jim Black's campaign. The more recent poll of 600 likely general election voters was held Oct. 20 and 21, the week before the elections board held hearings on former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign.