To: Interested Parties
From: Paul Shumaker, General Consultant Pat McCrory Committee
Date: Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
Subject: In NC Senate Primary, Gov. McCrory Maintains Strong Lead
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McCrory’s Lead Continues Despite $10 Million in Anti-McCrory Advertising
A recent statewide survey in North Carolina of 800 Republican primary voters found that former Gov. Pat McCrory is maintaining a strong lead over all Republican primary opponents. This is despite $1.3 million in direct spending from the Budd campaign and over $8.7 million in aggressive, anti-McCrory television advertising and numerous attack mailers – all of which have gone unanswered by the McCrory campaign.
The survey, conducted during the first week of January, found that McCrory leads with 30% of the vote. The other candidates were: Ted Budd (21%), Mark Walker (8%), Marjorie Eastman (1%), Cooke (<1%), Banwart (<1%), Harper (<1%).
McCrory’s near-double-digit lead remains strong is significant considering that the McCrory campaign has yet to spend any money on voter contact or advertising. McCrory’s name ID and popularity with Republican base voters is so strong that he has been able to withstand millions of DC special-interest dollars in “deceptive”, “dishonest” and “misleading” advertising.
The survey found that Governor McCrory leads (28%) all candidates with voters who are favorable to Donald Trump to Budd’s 24.7% and Walker’s 8.1%.
With Independent voters, a voting group that will outnumber both Republicans and Democrats in November, McCrory leads with 33.1% to Budd’s 16.9%, and Walker’s 9.7%.
With Club for Growth spending nearly $10 million on Budd’s behalf, Budd has only gained one out of four voters who are favorable to Trump. It is clear that Republican primary voters know and trust Gov. McCrory as a conservative champion and are rejecting Washington bought-and-paid-for politicians like Ted Budd once again.
As 2022 begins, Pat McCrory is clearly suited to be the GOP’s strongest general election candidate. McCrory’s near-ten-point lead is an incredibly strong position for someone who has yet to run his first ad of the campaign.
The survey was conducted by live phone interviews with 40% cell phone only households. The survey has a margin of error of + 3.5%. Full set of crosstabs is available here.
