FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RALEIGH – Civitas’s newest poll reveals that, if the 2018 North Carolina State Supreme Court election were held today, a generic Republican candidate would have an edge over a generic Democratic candidate by 3 percentage points. The exact text of the question is as follows:
If the 2018 judicial election for North Carolina State Supreme Court were held today, would you be voting for the:
41% Republican candidate
38% Democratic candidate
7% Neither/Other/Independent
15% Don’t Know/Undecided/Need More Info
Perhaps more noteworthy, however, is the increase in the Republican’s victory spread when actual names are attributed to the Supreme Court candidates.
When given the choice to vote for Barbara Jackson, instead of simply “the Republican candidate” the margin of victory rose to 12 points. The exact text of the question is as follows:
If the election for North Carolina Supreme Court were being held today and you had to make a choice, for whom would you vote between:
43% Total Barbara Jackson, the Republican
31% Total Anita Earls, the Democrat
22% Lean/Undecided
28% Definitely Jackson
14% Probably Jackson
2% Lean Jackson
18% Undecided
3% Lean Earls
8% Probably Earls
23% Definitely Earls
3% Refused
Noting this significant differential, Civitas President Francis De Luca said, “While North Carolina voters support a generic Republican candidate for a seat on the Supreme Court, that support increases significantly when given actual candidates.”
Crosstabs for this question can be found here.
This poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters (30% on cell phones) with a margin of error +/- 3.10%. This survey was taken February 6-8, 2018. A copy of the crosstabs, in their entirety, will be released later today.
Civitas has conducted live-caller voting in North Carolina since May 2005, and we are the only organization offering independent, nonpartisan data on current opinion. In the decade we’ve been conducting them, our polls have provided vital insights on what North Carolina voters think of the leaders and issues facing the state.
Founded in 2005, the Civitas Institute is a Raleigh, NC-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit policy organization that fights to remove barriers to freedom so that all North Carolinians can enjoy a better life.
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Republicans do not believe in the Judiciary as a co-equal branch of Government. Why anyone would choose a Republican Justice boggles the reasoned minds of good moral people. Then there is that lie of ‘judicial activism’ and ‘legislating from the bench’ that is used by the NC Civitas’ of our country. They applaud when the Bench legislates in their favor / condemn it when it does not.