More polling: Quantus, Elon and The $71 MILLION *cure*?

Quantus Insights has released their polling on the North Carolina US Senate race. Their take – based on likely voters with a 3.5 % margin of error – has Roy Cooper up 49-44 over Michael Whatley.

Here’s the pollster’s take on what they found:

[…] Taken together, the results suggest a midterm electorate that remains fundamentally competitive, but one that is presently tilting against the national Republican brand and giving Democrats a modest opening.

The Senate ballot is the clearest indication of that advantage. Cooper is not simply consolidating Democrats. He is also winning the center of the electorate, carrying independents by a substantial 51.1% to 35.3%. That matters in a state like North Carolina, where statewide races are often decided less by partisan enthusiasm than by which side better captures the voters who are not firmly anchored to either party. Cooper’s lead suggests he is doing more than holding the Democratic base. He is expanding beyond it. […]

North Carolina’s Elon University released a poll that is a lot less horse-race oriented:

[…] An Elon University Poll published Thursday shows Cooper with a broad head start against Whatley among registered voters, in terms of name recognition as well as popularity. Forty-eight percent of respondents view Cooper favorably and 34% view him unfavorably. Twenty-four percent view Whatley favorably, and 34% view him unfavorably. Meanwhile, 27% of voters say they know little to nothing about Cooper, while 64% say the same about Whatley. [...]

These are just the latest examples in a long list of polls that are not finding good news for the Republican Whatley. It’s being reported that The Senate Leadership Fund – a PAC controlled by John Thune and his team in DC — is sending down $71 million to try and boost the Whatley campaign.

Here’s the Whatley take on this latest round of polling:

[…] Despite the numbers, Whatley is confident in his chances. “I have never run for office, so my name recognition is a little bit lower,” he told WRAL on Thursday. “But whenever we have conversations with people across the state, we are getting our points through.”

Whatley added: “We just need to introduce me and my ideas to the rest of the state.” […]

Wait a minute.  A primary is the best venue for *introducing* oneself to the voters.  Didn’t we just finish playing Pretend-there-is-no-primary because we supposedly already have the “best candidate to defeat Roy Cooper and hold the Senate seat” ???  

And IF that really is the case, that we have the best candidate to hold the seat and beat Cooper, why is it that we have a flood of polls since July — and not one portraying a Whatley lead?

Methinks the RNC wizards behind the curtain for Whatley are preparing yet another Hershel Walker / Dr. Oz *special* just for us here in North Carolina.