Budd leading Beasley by 4 points: North Carolina Senate poll

Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) is leading Democrat Cheri Beasley in the race for a seat in the upper chamber, according to a new Marist College poll. 

The poll, published on Wednesday, found that 49 percent of respondents who said they will definitely vote in next month’s election supported Budd, while 45 percent of those surveyed said they will vote for Beasley. Budd’s lead is just outside of the survey’s 3.8-point margin of error.

Among registered voters surveyed, each candidate garnered 44 percent support. Ten percent of registered voters said they were undecided, according to the poll.

Along party lines, 89 percent of registered Republican respondents said they would vote for Budd on Election Day, and 5 percent of Republicans in the state said they will cast their vote for Beasley.

Eighty-eight percent of registered Democratic respondents said they’ll vote for Beasley, who recently served as the state Supreme Court’s chief justice, in November’s election, while 5 percent of state Democrats surveyed said they will cast their vote for Budd. 

Among registered independent voters, 40 percent said they’ll vote for Beasley, while 39 percent of those surveyed said they’d vote for Budd. 

The Budd-Beasley contest is one of the few Senate races in November’s midterm election that could determine which party keeps control of the upper chamber.

Both candidates are seeking to replace retiring Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who is not seeking a fourth term.

The Marist College poll was conducted Oct. 17-20 with a total of 1,130 respondents participating in the survey. The poll’s margin of error is 3.8 percentage points.