Sanders Outperforms Clinton in Latest Civitas Poll

RALEIGH – A new Civitas poll of North Carolina voters finds Sen. Bernie Sanders outperforms former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in head-to-head matchups against the top two Republican presidential hopefuls.

The actual questions asked of respondents are as follows:

If the November general election for President of the United States were today, and the only two candidates on the ballot were Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, who would you vote for?
42%     Donald Trump (R)
48%     Hillary Clinton (D)
10%     Undecided

What if the only two candidates were Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Hillary Clinton … who would you vote for?
40%     Ted Cruz (R)
50%     Hillary Clinton (D)
10%     Undecided

Now, what if the only two names on the ballot were Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders?

42%     Donald Trump (R)
50%     Bernie Sanders (D)
8%       Undecided

What if it were Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Bernie Sanders?

37%     Ted Cruz (R)
53%     Bernie Sanders (D)
10%     Undecided

OK, let’s shift our focus to the Gubernatorial election … If the November election for Governor were today, and the only two candidates on the ballot were Republican Pat McCrory and Democrat Roy Cooper, who would you vote for?

40%     Pat McCrory (R)
49%     Roy Cooper (D)
11%     Undecided

Previously released questions:

As you may know, the Charlotte City Council passed a new bathroom ordinance for transgender people that allows biological men and biological women, who identify as the opposite sex, to use the bathroom or locker room of their choosing. Now I am going to read you two viewpoints on this topic; please tell me which one you agree with more? (options rotated) Supporters of the ordinance say this is a reasonable and inclusive policy that allows transgender people to use the bathroom or locker room of the opposite sex if it makes them more comfortable. Opponents of the ordinance say this is an unreasonable and unsafe policy because it allows men to use the women’s bathroom and locker rooms in front of women and girls.

24%     Reasonable And Inclusive
69%     Unreasonable And Unsafe
8%       Not Sure

Should Attorney General Roy Cooper use his authority to go get a Court Order stopping the Charlotte Bathroom Ordinance from going into effect on April 1st?

62%     Yes
26%     No
12%     Not Sure

Should small business owners have the right to refuse to participate in activities such as hosting same sex weddings or providing cakes or flowers for events that violate the religious beliefs of the businesses owners? Or do small business owners not have the right to refuse to participate in these activities?

67%     Should Have The Right To Refuse
26%     Should Not Have The Right
6%       Not Sure

Crosstabs for all of the above questions can be found here.

To interview Civitas President Francis De Luca about this poll, contact Demi Dowdy at 919-747-8059.

About this poll: SurveyUSA interviewed 400 registered voters from the entire state of North Carolina 03/22/16 through 03/23/16 using blended sample, mixed mode with a margin of error of approximately plus/minus 5 percent. Respondents reachable on a home telephone were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer, using Registration-list Based Sample (RBS) from Aristotle of Washington, DC. Twenty-one percent of respondents were reached on their smartphone, tablet or other electronic device.

Founded in 2005, the Civitas Institute is a Raleigh, NC-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit policy organization committed to creating a North Carolina whose citizens enjoy liberty and prosperity derived from limited government, personal responsibility and civic engagement. To that end, Civitas develops and advocates for conservative policy solutions to improve the lives of all North Carolinians.

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