In North Carolina, a race that has mainly escaped national attention, Richard Burr has put himself in position to be the first Senator to win re-election in that seat in decades. Elaine Marshall trails by 15 while Burr gets over the 50% mark in the latest Survey USA poll:
In an election for US Senator from North Carolina today, 10/26/10, 1 week until votes are counted, incumbent Republican Richard Burr defeats Democrat Elaine Marshall 53% to 38%, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
The contest is closer than it was 6 weeks ago, when an identical SurveyUSA WRAL-TV poll found Burr up 24 points; today Burr is up 15. In the end, Marshall cannot overcome the fact that 1 in 4 Democrats statewide cross-over and vote Republican, and that Independents break 2:1 against her.
In fact, Burr tied Marshall in the Raleigh area, usually a Democratic stronghold, 45/45. Marshall has had a strong headwind in this race named Barack Obama, who has become highly unpopular in a state he won in 2008. Obama has a -20 favorability rating in the state, 34/54. Burr even wins 22% of the African-American vote, a result that should have the White House worried about their re-election chances. Burr wins every age demographic and every income demographic as well.
This race has never been in doubt.