Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are deadlocked in North Carolina, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
The poll from Elon University found Trump leading Clinton by 1 point among likely voters, 44% to 43%, a statistical tie, within the 3.86-point margin of error. Libertarian Gary Johnson drew 6% support, while another 6% said they were undecided.
Clinton and Trump maintain large advantages in North Carolina with key constituencies — Clinton receives the support of 98% of black voters, while Trump is backed by 65% of white voters. The gender divide is less severe, however, as Clinton leads Trump among women by 6 points while Trump’s advantage among men is 10 points.
Majorities said that both Trump and Clinton were worse than typical Republican and Democrat candidates for president, though more were likely to describe Clinton than Trump as “about the same as usual.”
The Elon poll also surveyed likely voters on their perceptions of the candidates’ health — a major focus in the presidential race after Clinton was diagnosed with a case of pneumonia two weeks ago. Seventy-seven percent of North Carolina voters said they think Trump is healthy enough to be president, but only 56% said the same about Clinton. Opinions were sharply divided along partisan lines. Additionally, just under half said that both Clinton and Trump had not provided enough medical information.
With fewer than 50 days remaining in the race, 6% of North Carolina likely voters said they remain undecided, according to the poll. But when asked if they had to choose between Clinton, Trump and Johnson, 35% chose Clinton, compared to 18% for Trump and Johnson each.
When Johnson voters were asked to choose between Clinton and Trump, slightly more said they prefer Trump, though nearly 4 in 10 continued to indicate no preference.
North Carolina likely voters were also asked if they thought Russian President Vladimir Putin or President Barack Obama was a better leader, likely prompted by Trump’s recent comments that Putin has been “far more” of a leader than Obama. Overall, 60% chose Obama, while 23% said Putin — but a plurality (39%) of Republicans chose Putin, with about a quarter saying they “don’t know.”
The Elon University poll of North Carolina surveyed 644 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.86 points. It was conducted from September 12-16.
