In North Carolina, more Democrats than Republicans say they are extremely interested in the midterm elections (51% vs. 42%), and more Democrats also say they are extremely motivated to vote (58% vs. 50%). This enthusiasm advantage creates an edge in the Senate matchup.

Senate Race Details

Democrat Roy Cooper leads Republican Michael Whatley by 53% to 44% in the race to fill the state’s open Senate seat, according to a Fox News poll of North Carolina voters. Cooper’s gap widens to 15 points among those saying they’re extremely interested in the election (57% vs. 42%) and 13 points among those extremely motivated to vote (55% vs. 42%).

Cooper receives high support from moderates, voters under age 30, independents, voters with a college degree, and women. He also captures support from about one in five non-MAGA Republicans and conservatives. Whatley performs best among very conservative voters, White evangelical Christians, White voters without a college degree, and rural voters.

Enthusiasm Gap

There’s also an enthusiasm gap when voters are asked why they back their candidate. Some 52% of Whatley’s supporters say they’re voting for him, while 46% say it’s mainly against Cooper. By contrast, 84% of Cooper supporters say they’re voting for him rather than against Whatley (13%).

President Trump complicates the contest for Whatley. Forty percent of North Carolina voters view the president favorably and 58% unfavorable. That’s net negative by 18 points, while his ratings were underwater by just 6 points two years ago (47-53%).

Tar Heel voters share equally negative views of the Republican Party (44% favorable vs. 54% unfavorable) and the Democratic Party (42% vs. 56%). Negative partisanship is strong, as more Democrats view the GOP negatively (94%) than view their own party positively (83%). The reverse is also true: more Republicans (92%) hold an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party than view the GOP positively (85%).

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.