Trump, Biden unpopular among NC voters, who also worry about candidates' mental competence, WRAL News poll shows
The most common view of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump among likely North Carolina voters this year is one of deep dislike, according to a WRAL News poll published Tuesday. Most voters also expressed concerns about the mental competence of both candidates.
The poll found that a plurality of likely voters hold “very unfavorable” opinions about each man. The results add support to findings, released Monday, showing that 55% of likely voters in North Carolina wish they had different options for president. Biden, the Democrat seeking reelection, is likely to face Trump, a Republican, this year in a rematch of the 2020 election.
Biden’s worst numbers were among men and white voters. In total, 53% expressed somewhat or very unfavorable views of Biden, compared with 41% with somewhat or very favorable views of the president.
The numbers show Trump is also unpopular, albeit less unpopular than Biden: 49% expressed somewhat or very unfavorable views of him, compared to 48% with somewhat or very favorable views. Trump was especially unpopular with women and Black voters, the poll found.
Voters also largely expressed that they didn’t mind the advanced age of either candidate — Biden is 81 years old and Trump is 77 — with 57% saying age won’t impact their vote and another 12% saying they’re more likely to support older candidates.
But voters were concerned by both candidates’ mental competence, with 72% saying that worried them about Biden and 52% saying that worried them about Trump. The answers broke down largely, but not entirely, along party lines.
- Among Republicans, 93% said they worried about Biden’s mental competence but only 18% said the same of Trump.
- Among Democrats, 83% said they worried about Trump’s mental competence; 46% said the same about Biden.
The poll of 598 likely voters in North Carolina, conducted in partnership with SurveyUSA between March 3 and March 9, has a credibility interval of 4.8 percentage points. A credibility interval is similar to margin of error but takes into account more factors and is considered by some pollsters to be a more accurate measurement of statistical certainty.
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Biden's chances with undecided voters
The numbers released Tuesday expand upon results published Monday showing Trump leading in North Carolina — with 50% of likely voters saying they would back him this year, compared with 45% for Biden and 5% undecided.
Trump won North Carolina in 2016 and again in 2020, each time with just under 50% of the vote.
However, the numbers in Tuesday’s poll also showed Biden has more potential ability to make inroads with the other side than Trump. Fifteen percent of self-described conservatives said they view Biden favorably, compared with 11% of self-described liberals who viewed Trump favorably.
Biden also performed better among the moderate voters who might be the undecided, swing voters that decide who wins North Carolina this year: 51% of moderates had “very unfavorable” views of Trump, compared with 32% with the same view of Biden.
The poll also found that both candidates could struggle with some of their own 2020 supporters: 39% of Biden 2020 voters, and 33% of Trump 2020 voters, said they now viewed their candidates only somewhat favorably.
Neither politician’s voters express too much remorse over their 2020 vote, though: Just 11% of 2020 Trump voters say they now have a negative view of him, compared with 10% of Biden 2020 voters who say they now have a negative view of the president.
