Public opinion turns on offshore drilling, poll says

What a difference a few months make.

Three months ago, 60 percent of North Carolinians supported offshore drilling. Now, after the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 42 percent support it, while a plurality - 46 percent - oppose it.

That's according to a new poll by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm in Raleigh.

Public opinion has shifted each month since the spill, PPP polls show. The April poll (pre-spill) showed 26 percent of voters opposed to drilling. That increased to 38 percent in May, 39 percent in June, and now 46 percent in July.
 
PPP surveyed 502 North Carolina voters June 28-30. The survey’s margin of
error is plus or minus four percentage points.