It’s STILL the economy, stupid.

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We decided it was time to take a break from *Sex Offender poker* and do a deep dive into the important issues in the US Senate race.

Real Clear Politics shows Roy Cooper with an average lead of 7.8 percentage points over Michael Whatley.  (Remember, the worst beatdown  of a NCGOP US Senate candidate in 50 years happened in 2008 with a victory margin of 8.4 points.  So, the NCGOP and Mike Whatley are in precarious territory. )

We thought it would be interesting to dig a little deeper into some of the recent polling on this race.

Roy Cooper‘s commercials and speeches all seem to be about inflation and affordability.  The Whatley campaign and the GOP seem focused on the crime issue.  Check out what ECU found in their most recent poll:

[…] When asked to identify the most important issue in deciding their vote in the upcoming election, 43% of likely voters cite the economy, including the cost of living. Other top issues include border security and/or immigration (12%), crime and/or public safety (10%), affordability of health care (6%), and the conflict with Iran and/or other foreign policy issues (6%). Among those who identify the economy and cost of living as their most important issue, Cooper leads Whatley, 58% to 25%. […]

Inflation and the economy are at the top.  Crime comes in a distant third.  *Sooooo what is the Republican campaign talking about ???*

Look at what Elon found about name ID and voter intent in their recent survey:

[…] In this survey, 71% of registered voters said they had heard “a great deal” or “some” about Cooper, who was North Carolina governor from 2017 to 2025 and previously served 16 years as the state’s attorney general.

In comparison, 47% said they had heard “a great deal” or “some” about Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and the North Carolina Republican Party. Fifteen percent said they had heard nothing at all about Whatley compared with only 4% who had heard nothing at all about Cooper.

Regardless of who they personally plan to vote for, 54% of registered voters predicted that Cooper will win the race, compared with 29% who predicted that Whatley will win.

“Despite an increase in advertising, we measured relatively little movement over the last month in voter intentions about the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, with Democratic candidate Roy Cooper maintaining a strong lead over Republican Michael Whatley,” said Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll and professor of political science and public policy. “The race continues to appear competitive among the group of voters who are highly familiar with Whatley. However, the size of that group remains relatively small and slowly growing. Now that we have passed Labor Day, campaigning will approach full velocity, offering some final opportunity for Whatley to increase familiarity and narrow Cooper’s lead in the race.” […]

And here are some of the findings from a High Point University poll in mid-August: