Trump isn’t the only challenge for Republicans in the midterms, new NC poll shows | Opinion
Democrats have a clear but early advantage across five major races on November’s ballot in North Carolina, a new statewide poll found.
A poll released Wednesday by the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service at Catawba College tested five major races on a generic ballot: U.S. Senate, U.S. House, N.C. Supreme Court, N.C. Senate and N.C. House.
Democratic candidates received 45% support across that generic ballot, while Republican candidates received 37%. About 14% of voters remained undecided. A closer look at the results shows that Democrats have a sizable lead with independent voters, though a significant portion of independents remain undecided.
That’s consistent with other results from recent statewide and national polls, which show that in the bigger political picture, things continue to look grim for Republicans. A previous release from the same poll, which was conducted in January, found that approval of President Donald Trump is waning even among Republican voters. Of course, when Election Day actually rolls around, voters could feel differently, and they may also have differing opinions about specific candidates. But for now, the trends favor Democrats.
Among Democrats, 43% said their vote would be for their own party, while 32% said they were voting against Republicans. On the Republican side, 57% said they were voting for their party, while 26% said they were voting against the opposition. But even voters who identify as independent had some level of partisan preference. Just over half of independents intending to vote Democratic described their vote as “anti-Republican Party,” while just under half of independents intending to vote Republican said their vote was “anti-Democratic Party.” It suggests that a sizable number of voters are motivated by dissatisfaction with the party currently in power, but perhaps not as many as Democrats may think, so they’ll have to do more than just run as the anti-Trump party.
The survey also asked about voters’ broader preferences and intentions. About 45% of voters prefer candidates that balance energizing their party’s base with appealing to swing and independent voters — a signal that electability and broader appeal still matters in a battleground state like North Carolina.
But while many voters say they want political balance, not all of them are willing to compromise for it.
Voters were asked whether they want candidates who are more compromise-oriented “to get things done,” or if they’d rather have candidates that stick to party principles, even if that means being “less effective at legislating.” The majority of Democrats and Republicans said both of those things — sticking to principles and compromise — were important.
But when faced with a choice between compromise and party loyalty, they gave different answers. Republicans were far less likely to say compromise alone is important, and far more likely to say candidates should stick to party principles, even if it makes compromise harder — indicating a preference for ideological purity.
In general, Republicans also tilted toward candidates that energize the base, while Democrats and independents said they’d prefer to see candidates who have broader appeal in a general election. That dynamic is reflected in the upcoming U.S. Senate race: Roy Cooper seems like a better choice for a general election than any of the Republican candidates, who have catered toward the GOP base. Only 12% of Republicans said they feel national candidates and elected officials in their party have been too extreme in recent years.
Democrats and Republicans continued to diverge when asked about the ideological direction of their parties, the survey found. About 34% of Democrats said their party should be more centrist, while only 21% of Republicans said the same. The majority of Republicans said their party should stay where it is. Also interesting: 23% of Republicans said they would be less likely to support an elected official that disagrees with party leadership on some issues, while only 9% of Democrats said they’d be less likely to support them.
The survey’s results suggest that dissatisfaction with the current administration may not be the only problem Republicans may have in November. We’ve seen it time and again, in North Carolina and across the country: the type of rigidity that GOP primary voters demand from their candidates does not translate well to general elections. Just look at 2024: former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson lost his bid for governor by nearly 15 percentage points, a staggering margin in a state as purple as North Carolina. Turning away from more moderate candidates has hurt Republicans hurting them in the past in statewide races, and it could hurt them again.
This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Trump isn’t the only challenge for Republicans in the midterms, new NC poll shows | Opinion."
