The new PPP poll is out on the 2014 North Carolina U.S. Senate race delivering mixed news as always. First, on the GOP side:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...
Four weeks out from primary day, the Republican race for Senate in North Carolina continues to look like it's headed for a runoff. Thom Tillis leads the GOP field with 18% to 15% for Greg Brannon, 11% for Mark Harris, 7% for Heather Grant, 6% for Ted Alexander, 5% for Alex Bradshaw, 2% for Jim Snyder, and 1% for Edward Kryn. 34% of voters remain undecided and Tillis will probably have to win most of them in order to get to the 40% mark needed to avoid a runoff.
Tillis' small lead comes in spite of having far greater name recognition than the rest of the Republican field. 60% of voters know enough about him to have formed an opinion compared to 31% for Brannon and 30% for Harris, the other serious Republican contenders at this point. Tillis and Harris have both seen their support increase 4 points from a month ago, while Brannon has gained just one point. No one else seems to be gathering any momentum in the primary race. - PPP, 4/8/14
Now on the Democratic side, Senator Kay Hagan (D. NC) has a 41/48 approval rating and slightly trails most of her GOP opponents:
She trails most of her Republicans opponents by small margins- it's 44/40 against Mark Harris, 43/39 against Heather Grant, 42/40 against Greg Brannon, 41/40 against Edward Kryn, 42/41 against Alex Bradshaw, and 43/42 against Ted Alexander. - PPP, 4/8/14
But here's a silver lining with Tillis being the current GOP frontrunner:
Hagan does tie Jim Snyder at 41, and the one Republican who she actually leads is her most likely opponent- she has a slim 43/41 edge over Thom Tillis. In Tillis' case being well known is not necessarily a positive thing- his time at the helm of an unpopular legislature has left him with a 20/39 favorability rating. The more generic GOP hopefuls that few voters have heard of all do a little bit better than him in the general. - PPP, 4/8/14
It's difficult to know who will end up being the GOP nominee at this point. Brannon's not that far behind Tillis and Harris being in third place. It's very likely they could head into a runoff and Brannon is a Todd Akin candidate so even if he were to win the nominee, Hagan will have a lot to hit him with and see those numbers change. Tillis is the face of Art Pope and the NC GOP's agenda and the Chamber Of Commerce is backing Tillis. It'll be an expensive race but Hagan can still beat him. As for Harris, we'll have to see if he can get the Evangelical voters to help him pull off an upset victory. It's still a while away but Hagan is going to need our help to take on Pope, the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove and the GOP. Click here if you want to donate and get involved with her campaign:
http://www.kayhagan.com/