Posted on 12/06/2010 12:23:31 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
With President Barack Obama flying into North Carolina today, it's a good time to look at whether he could carry the state again.
A recent poll says he'll be in a competitive position in two years.
The survey, by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, finds Obama leading or close to all potential Republican opponents in the state.
Obama would defeat former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin by 48 percent to 43 percent, would edge former House Speaker Newt Gingrich 46 percent to 45 percent and would tied former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 44 percent. He would lose to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by a 44 percent to 48 percent.
All of the results were within the margin of error and, therefore, statistically tied.
Obama surprised many in 2008 by becoming the first Democrat to carry North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976, edging out Arizona Sen. John McCain.
PPP recently took a similar poll in Virginia, which also went for Obama in 2008, finding that Obama was leading all Republicans there by five points. The firm found that Obama had lost more independent voters in North Carolina than he had in Virginia during the past two years.
The spin: "It has to be encouraging for President Obama that so soon after some wrote his political obituary, he is already looking just as strong in North Carolina and Virginia as he did in 2008," said Dean Debnam, the president of the Raleigh polling firm. "The remarkable thing is he is doing this well while still losing independents, unlike in 2008."
Obama has an approval rating of 45 percent, while 51 percent disapprove of the job he is doing.
As for Palin, 36 percent view her favorably, while 55 percent view her unfavorably. Gingrich's ratings are 33 percent favorable, 43 percent unfavorable. Huckabee is viewed favorably by 44 percent and unfavorably by 31 percent. Romney is viewed favorably by 33 percent, and unfavorably by 38 percent.
The survey of 517 North Carolina voters was conducted Nov. 19-21 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
Voters rate Sens. Burr, Hagan
Republican Sen. Richard Burr, having just come through an easy re-election campaign, is in much better political shape than his Democratic colleague, Kay Hagan.
Burr has a job approval rating of 44 percent and a disapproval rating of 34 percent, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh-based firm with Democratic leanings.
That compares to Hagan, who has an approval rating of 33 percent and a disapproval rating of 44 percent.
Fortunately for Hagan, she does not have to face the voters until 2014.
The poll of 517 North Carolina voters was conducted Nov. 19-21 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.
Smith going to Washington
On Tuesday afternoon, Joseph Smith, N.C. commissioner of banks, gets introduced to the Senate Banking Commission. U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will do the honors. Smith is the White House nominee for director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Smith has been the state's banking commissioner since 2002, and he took an early stand against lending practices that put many low-income people into loans they couldn't afford. No word yet on who might replace Smith in North Carolina.
The FHFA runs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are responsible for funding more than half of all home loans made by banks.
The biggest block of libtard dims in NC are transplants from the north...the ones from Pennsylvania and especially stupid. Not ignorant. Stupid. They whine about how badly they destroyed Penn and then proudly tell us about “the way we used to do it back home” without realizing for an moment how stupid such statements are, not to mention discourteous.
I get especially concerned when they start playing banjos and making pig noises.
What, specifically? And how can I help?
Support conservative candidates in your area by volunteering on their campaigns is a start. My children (now 17 and 20) have been going door-to-door in my ‘hood for a couple of election cycles handing out early voting information to registered GOP.
Don’t blame North Carolinians, it’s the idiots from Penn, NJ, NY and other liberal strongholds up north who are disgusted with their own states that are moving here and causing trouble.
Want to know who we really love down here in NC? Chris Christie. Why? Because if he succeeds in turning New Jersey around, it’ll keep the New Jersey people the hell IN New Jersey instead of moving down here.
NC is spotty purple. They’re just now working on eliminating the “blue dog Democrat” crap from down east and have just wrested the legislature out of the Rats’ hands for the first time since not long after Reconstruction. And yet in contested House races that were considered “close,” the Rats went 4-for-5 this election, and the Republican win (Renee Ellmers, NC-2) was a very close thing. That’s partially because of the immense number of transplants and “halfbacks,” and partially because of the dying old rural Democratic traditions. Then when you throw in hard-left liberal enclaves like Asheville, Chapel Hell, and (sadly) my current home of Durham, it makes the state a very purple 50/50 kind of place.
}:-)4
Charlotte itself is Obama country but, like most cities, the suburbs in Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Gaston, Rowan, and Cabarrus counties are a lot more conservative.
Raleigh’s not *that* left. Big swaths of Wake County are bright red. Pity those of us that live over here west of the airport, though, because Durham County’s just a lost cause. Almost 70% for Obama in 2008, and 75% for the execrable David Price this past November. The unholy convergence of racial politics and a major liberal arts university is too much for common sense to overcome in the Bull City.
}:-)4
I see this thread has turned into the typical ‘Blame the Yankee’ thread, when NC had plenty of Democrats before us Yankees ever invaded.
As to the topic of the story, the chance of Obama winning NC again, I highly doubt it. He won by 12,000 votes last time against the worst GOP campaign in probably 100 years, in a terrible environment for the GOP.
“NC had plenty of Democrats before us Yankees ever invaded.”
Indeed. The kind that elected Reagan twice, Three Bushes and Dole over Clinton in ‘96.
Out of curiosity how many states east of the Mississippi have ever had a majority republican registered voting base?
“the chance of Obama winning NC again, I highly doubt it. He won by 12,000 votes last time”
We can thank the liberal strongholds of Durham, Chapel Hill, and Asheville for that.
I agree with your points.
PPP also produced a poll of GOP contenders in NC showing Sarah Palin with a 15 point lead over Mitt Romney among MODERATES and also leading the contenders with 27% of the MODERATE vote.
Imho, it doesn’t matter how Palin will do in a hypothetical contest in 2012, but was is more important is how Palin is doing among her potential GOP opponents.
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