Eye on the Senate: Foes, Fans, Fence-Sitters Equal in North Carolina

By CQ-Roll Call Staff | May 14, 2009 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Richard Burr (Getty)

Republican Sen. Richard M. Burr may have his work cut out for him in running for re-election in North Carolina next year. A new poll finds that roughly a third of his constituents like him, a third of them don't like him, and a third don't care.

The Public Policy Polling survey results, released on Thursday, found voters evenly divided in their approval of Burr, with 36 percent approving, 32 percent disapproving, and 32 percent saying they weren't sure.

In a trial matchup with Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis, Burr would win 45 percent to 31 percent, according to the poll.

By comparison, an early PPP poll trial heat in the previous cycle between then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-NC, and Democratic challenger Kay Hagan found Dole leading 43 percent to 27 percent. Hagan went on to win that election in 2008.

The poll was based on interviews with 755 North Carolina voters May 8-10 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Burr narrowly won his Senate seat in 2004, defeating Erskine Bowles 51.6 percent to 47 percent. Bowles was a former aide to President Clinton and now serves as president of the University of North Carolina.

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