Many in NC withholding judgment on McCrory

The Elon University Poll, which surveyed 891 people statewide last week, also found that the General Assembly is held in fairly low esteem. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.28 percentage points.

A third of those surveyed said they don't yet know whether McCrory is doing a good job, while 26 percent said they disapprove of his early performance. Not surprisingly, Republican respondents gave the governor high marks – 61 percent approve, 9 percent disapprove – but even 30 percent of them said they don't know.

“Because the governor has held office for less than two months, it is not surprising that almost 32 percent of respondents said they were not sure whether they approved or disapproved of the governor’s performance,” Elon University Poll director Kenneth Fernandez said in a statement.

Democratic respondents said they disapprove of McCrory by a 42 to 26 percent margin, and women and blacks also gave him tepid marks.

Democratic lawmakers have accused the governor and the GOP-controlled General Assembly of waging a "war on women" and a "war on the poor" with some of their legislative priorities.

Approval of the General Assembly, by comparison, was only 33 percent, with 42 percent disapproving and 26 percent unsure.

As with McCrory, women and blacks were most critical of the legislature, with 40 and 48 percent disapproval ratings, respectively. Even men and white respondents gave lawmakers low marks, however.

When asked which party was doing the best job for North Carolina, Republicans outpolled Democrats by 37 to 32 percent. Also, 39 percent of respondents said the GOP now has too much influence in Raleigh, while 24 percent said the party should have more power.