The NBC affiliate based in Raleigh, N.C., talked with Jason Husser, associate professor of political science and director of the Elon University Poll, about claims by a U.S. Senate candidate in North Carolina about her standings in the polls.
A recent PolitiFactNC segment by NBC affiliate WRAL in Raleigh, N.C., including insights from Jason Husser, associate professor of political science and director of the Elon University Poll.
The Jan. 9 segment focused on claims by Democrat Erica Smith, who is running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, that she has greater support than other Democratic candidates and the incumbent, Republican Thom Tillis of Matthews, in five polls that have been conducted since the race began. Smith also claimed that she is the first black woman to lead an incumbent U.S. senator upon entering the race.
PolitiFact found three polls that mentioned Smith, with one conducted in late May and early June 2019 in which she gained 46 percent support compared to 39 percent by Tillis. Husser noted that voters shouldn’t put too much stock in polls conducted so early in a campaign.
“At this early moment, the vast majority of voters tend to rely on party labels when answering survey questions about nonpresidential races,” Husser told WRAL. “That will change when campaigns do more voter outreach over the next couple of months.”
Find the entire segment here.