People watch the September ABC News presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A new Elon University poll shows the presidential race is a dead heat in North Carolina, with both Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump garnering 46% support among registered voters in the state.
With just over a week left before the election, some 9% of registered voters say they support another candidate or are undecided. That number remain unchanged from a similar poll conducted last month.
This new survey, conducted from October 10 to 17, also reveals concerns about Trump’s potential reaction to the election results. Nearly half of the respondents, some 49%, say they were “not at all” confident that the former president would accept the outcome if Harris is declared the winner.
In the race for governor, Democrat Josh Stein continues to hold a substantial lead over Republican Mark Robinson. Stein is leading by 21 points among survey voters, up from the 14-point advantage he held in the September survey which was conducted before news broke about Robinson’s online history.
The survey also found that Hurricane Helene has galvanized the plans of about a fifth of North Carolina voters to cast a ballot in this year’s election. It also showed a sharp partisan divide about perceptions of how well federal and state agencies are responding to the storm’s devastation in the western part of the state.
Among Democrats, 68% say they are satisfied with the response from federal and state agencies, compared to only 24% of Republicans who felt the same way.
Some 59% of registered voters said they, their families or close friends and neighbors have been affected by the storm, with 21% saying they’ve experienced significant impact.
Last week, a group of Democratic lawmakers from the states affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton urged Congress to investigate the role of social media platforms in the spread of misinformation following the storms.
The lawmakers called on several congressional committees to investigate and hold hearings into the “dangerous trends” that have hindered efforts by authorities to assist disaster victims.
Following the storms, a surge of misleading information circulated on social media platforms which complicated efforts and exploited disaster victims. The lawmakers also expressed concern about the spread of conspiracy theories that have escalated into death threats, harassment and calls for violence against government workers.
FEMA Director Deanne Criswell called the level of misinformation: “the worst [she’s] ever seen.”
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump himself has spread falsehoods during the week that followed the storm.