Jones (R-NC 3rd District) Currently Leads GOP Primary

RALEIGH – Today the Civitas Institute released a poll that finds Walter Jones, incumbent in North Carolina’s 3^rd Congressional District, with a 9 point lead over Scott Dacey, Vice-Chairman of the Craven County Board of Commissioners, and a 22 point lead over Phil Law, a business systems analyst from Jacksonville.

“While nine points isn’t a commanding lead, Congressman Jones has a healthy lead in this primary race which is largely driven by a better name identification than his opponents,” said Donald Bryson, President of the Civitas Institute. “Most voters are either ‘Neutral’ or have ‘No opinion’ of Phil Law or Scott Dacey, which suggests that voters are just unfamiliar with them.”

Likely Republican primary voters in the 3^rd district were asked, “If the Republican primary for US House of Representatives were today and you were filling out your ballot right now, who would you vote for? Walter Jones? Phil Law? Or Scott Dacey?

37% Walter Jones
28% Scott Dacey
15% Phillip Law
21% Undecided

Regarding current issues, the poll also asked 3^rd Congressional District GOP voters to share their view of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Eighty-three percent of likely GOP primary voters have a favorable opinion of the NRA, while 82% say that the NRA has “too little” or the “right amount” of influence in Washington, DC.

Candidates’ support for and opposition to President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have made this a significant race to watch with state and national media outlets. The poll found 83% of likely GOP primary voters have a favorable opinion of President Trump, while 9% are unfavorable.

Also covered in this survey were 3^rd Congressional District GOP voters’ opinions on Donald Trump and steel and aluminum tariffs.

Complete survey and crosstabs can be found here.

Voter Roll Call interviewed 700 registered voters from North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District 03/23/18 through 03/25/18 using blended sample, mixed mode. 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. Respondents not reachable on a home telephone were shown a questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet or other electronic device. Of the 700 voters, 329 identified themselves as being certain to vote in the May 8 2018 North Carolina Republican Primary for US House of Representatives.

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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