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Poll: Burr Holds Slight Lead Over Ross in North Carolina

Transgender bathroom bill a drag on GOP governor, poll shows

A poll of North Carolina voters shows incumbent Sen. Richard M. Burr holding only a 2-point lead over Democratic challenger Deborah Ross. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
A poll of North Carolina voters shows incumbent Sen. Richard M. Burr holding only a 2-point lead over Democratic challenger Deborah Ross. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

A Monmouth University poll showed Wednesday that Republican Sen. Richard M. Burr holds only a slight lead over former North Carolina state Rep. Deborah Ross in a race that could be tilting toward the Democrats.

[Ratings Change in Two Top Senate Races]

The poll gave Burr a 2-point edge in the race. The incumbent has the support of 94 percent of Tar Heel Republicans polled while Ross was backed by 89 percent of Democrats.

[Burr: 2016 Is His Last Election]

A CNN poll released the same day showed Burr with a 3-point lead over Ross.

In the gubernatorial race, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper leads incumbent GOP Gov. Pat McCrory by 9 points, 52 percent to 43 percent, according to the Monmouth poll. Furor over the state’s transgender public bathroom law appears to be dragging down McCrory’s re-election bid. Fifty-five percent of voters disapprove of the law while seven in 10 say the law has been bad for the state’s national reputation. 

[N.C. Senator: Congress Should Stay Out of Bathroom Issue]

In the race for president, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton holds a 2-point edge over Republican Donald Trump. Another 7 percent said they intend to vote for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

The Monmouth poll was conducted by telephone from Aug. 20 to Aug. 23 among 401 likely voters. The margin of error was 4.9 percentage points. 

Contact Rahman at remarahman@cqrollcall.com or follow her on Twitter at @remawriter.

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