Poll: Ted Budd Leads Cheri Beasley in North Carolina U.S. Senate Race

Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is narrowly leading Cheri Beasley (D) by three points in the race to fill retiring Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-NC) seat, according to a Trafalgar Group poll released Wednesday.

Out of 1079 likely 2022 general election voters polled from September 1-4, 46.6 percent of respondents said they would vote for Trump-backed Budd, and 43.8 percent said they would vote for former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Beasley “if the election for U.S. Senate were held today.” No other candidate received more than two percent, and 5.6 percent were undecided. 

New @trafalgar_group #NCSen #poll (9/01-04) shows #Budd maintaining 3-point lead. #NCpol

46.6% @TedBuddNC
43.8% @CheriBeasleyNC
1.8% @ShannonBrayNC
0.9% @MatthewPHoh
1.3% Other
5.6% Und

See report: https://t.co/yL8jnFgizn pic.twitter.com/UkZ9fLLNtk

— Robert C. Cahaly (@RobertCahaly) September 7, 2022

The results are within the survey’s margin of error of 2.9 percent at a 95 percent confidence level, reflecting a close race in the Tar Heel State. Slightly more Democrats (41.3 percent) were polled than Republicans (40.1), and 18.6 percent of respondents identified as “no party or other.” Forty-five percent of respondents are men and 54.9 percent are women.

RealClearPolitics (RCP) factored in the new Trafalgar Group poll results to its average and found Budd slightly ahead of Beasley, 43.3 percent to 42.7 percent. Late August polling from Public Policy Polling showed Beasley one point ahead, 42 to 41 percent, and another August poll by Civitas showed them in an exact tie, 42.3 to 42.3 percent. 

Before the new poll numbers rolled out, Budd told Fox News he foresees pulling ahead of Beasley because “our message wins” and because Democrats’ poor policies are impacting everyday North Carolinians. 

Inflation, rising crime rates, and parents having a say in their kids' education are top concerns to voters across NC. Cheri Beasley would be a rubber stamp for the same reckless Biden policies. As your next US Senator, I will stop the Biden/Beasley agenda. #ncsen #ncopl pic.twitter.com/NLp9UVCaX4

— Ted Budd (@TedBuddNC) September 6, 2022

“Inflation, rising crime rates, and parents having a say in their kids’ education are top concerns to voters across NC. Cheri Beasley would be a rubber stamp for the same reckless Biden policies. As your next US Senator, I will stop the Biden/Beasley agenda,” the congressman said in a tweet on Tuesday.