This is part two of our latest poll from Meeting Street Insights and it was completed prior to Sunday’s announcement that President Biden would stand down from seeking re-election. One may read the first part of the poll analysis here.

Key Findings

Kamala Harris is not a popular figure in North Carolina

Four-in-ten voters (40%) say they have a favorable impression of Kamala Harris, while 54% have an unfavorable impression. In fact, more voters say they have a very unfavorable impression of her (44%) than the total number who have a favorable impression (40%). Just 24% say they have a very favorable impression. Kamala Harris’s image rating is comparable to Joe Biden’s (40% favorable to 59% unfavorable) and notably worse than Donald Trump’s (46% favorable to 51% unfavorable).

With Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, the Democrats faced an enthusiasm problem with their younger voters. Joe Biden is well liked by Democrats ages 55 or older (89% favorable to 11% unfavorable), but Democrats under 55 are more lukewarm toward him (59% favorable to 37% unfavorable). However, Kamala Harris faces the same age gap, with a solid image rating among Democrats 55+ (87% favorable to 8% unfavorable) but an underwhelming image rating among younger Democrats (53% favorable to 37% unfavorable).

Replacing Biden with Harris does not change
the fundamentals of the race in North Carolina

In the week before President Biden ended his campaign, the Biden–Harris ticket trailed the Trump–Vance ticket in a head-to-head matchup by three points (48% Trump–Vance to 45% Biden–Harris).

Kamala Harris trailed Donald Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head race by two points (49% Trump to 47% Harris).

Harris offers little improvement over Biden among key parts of the Democrats’ base. She performs slightly better than Biden among African Americans (Biden leads Trump by 42 points / Harris leads Trump by 46 points), does no better among Democrats under 55 (Biden + 54 / Harris +55), and performs slightly worse with college-educated White women (Biden +7 / Harris +4).

The Vice President also offers no upside among key swing voter groups. She performs roughly the same as Biden with Unaffiliated voters (+4 Biden / +5 Harris), college-educated White men (Biden +4 / Harris +3), and self-described ideological moderates (Biden +11 / Harris +11).

Roy Cooper is popular, but only
moves the needle a little as a running mate

Roy Cooper’s image rating is 55% favorable to 32% unfavorable, and voters approve of the job he’s doing as governor by a 21-point margin (54% approve to 33% disapprove). However, while the good will toward Governor Cooper is wide, it is not particularly deep. Just 29% have a very favorable impression of him, and just 33% strongly approve of his job performance.

Cooper’s presence on the ballot offers, at best, marginal upside for Democrats here. While Trump leads Harris 49% to 47%, a Trump–Vance ticket ties a Harris–Cooper ticket 48% to 48%.

Other Findings

Photo of Vice President Kamala Harris is by John Locher for the Associated Press