Last North Carolina polls before election give Biden, Cunningham narrow leads


Two new polls are shoring up predictions that Democrats will sweep North Carolina's statewide races next week.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a 6-point lead over Trump in the typically red state, an NBC News/Marist poll of likely voters out Friday reveals. Meanwhile Democrat Cal Cunningham has a 10-point advantage over Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), suggesting he'll be one of the seats Democrats can count on to flip the Senate. And Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has the biggest lead of all: a whopping 19 points over GOP challenger Dan Forest.
A New York Times/Siena College poll out Friday was a bit more cautious. Biden received 48 percent support to Trump's 45, a point down from where the Democrat was earlier this month in the same poll. Cunningham has the same margin over Tillis, 46-43, a slight decline from where he's been over the past month.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Biden has held a modest lead over Trump in North Carolina for the past few months, leaving his chances in the swing state still uncertain. Cunningham has tended to pull in higher but still modest margins than Biden, even after he admittedly exchanged romantic texts with a woman who isn't his wife, while polls have universally given Cooper a major advantage.
NBC News and Marist surveyed 800 likely voters from Oct. 25–28, with a 4.7 percentage point margin of error. The Times and Siena College surveyed 1,034 likely voters from Oct. 23–27, with a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
China and Taiwan's war of words ahead of anniversary parade
Under The Radar Neighbours both claim to have led the fighting during World War Two
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardon
Feature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal
-
Pentagon readies military deployment in Chicago
Feature The Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of Illinois National Guard members to Chicago after Trump threatened to send troops into other major cities
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to US
Speed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU offices
Speed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping mission
Speed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20
Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peace
Speed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest war
Speed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'
-
Russia tries Ukraine land grab before Trump summit
Speed Read The incursion may be part of Putin's efforts to boost his bargaining position