NORTH CAROLINA: Hillary +5, Cooper +4 In New Poll

The Raleigh News & Observer reports:

A new poll shows that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has gained ground in North Carolina after last week’s debate. The Elon University Poll shows she has a 5.5-point lead over Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, compared with a virtual tie two weeks ago.

“We are seeing an unusually strong post-debate bump for Clinton in North Carolina,” said Jason Husser, assistant professor of political science and the director of the Elon University Poll, in a news release. Those surveyed favor Clinton 44.5 percent compared with 39 percent for Trump. Libertarian Gary Johnson has had an increase in support to 9 percent, compared with 6 percent last month.

It appears that the debate is giving Clinton a boost. The poll found 64 percent of likely voters in North Carolina who watched the debate picked Clinton as the winner. A Quinnipiac Poll released Monday showed Clinton with 46 percent support in the state to Trump’s 43 percent.

And a Bloomberg Politics N.C. Poll showed Clinton with 43 percent to Trump’s 42 percent. Both polls were within the margin of error. A RealClear Politics average of polls has the presidential race in North Carolina at a virtual tie.

In the governor’s race, the Elon poll found Democrat Roy Cooper leads incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory 48 percent to 44 percent. Two weeks ago, the poll gave McCrory a three percentage point edge.

“Backlash over HB2 seems to have harmed Pat McCrory’s poll numbers,” Husser said in the news release. “McCrory continues to struggle with women and with African-Americans.”