Gov. McCrory Pulls Ahead After Post Hurricane Job Approval Shifts to Net Positive for First Time Since July 2013 “State response has been top-notch.” Wilmington Star-News New poll results released Monday morning, October 24, 2016, by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a Democratic polling firm based in Raleigh, show GOP Governor Pat McCrory’s “Job Approval” now
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Gov. McCrory Pulls Ahead After Post Hurricane Job Approval Shifts to Net Positive for First Time Since July 2013
“State response has been top-notch.” Wilmington Star-News
New poll results released Monday morning, October 24, 2016, by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a Democratic polling firm based in Raleigh, show GOP Governor Pat McCrory’s “Job Approval” now more positive (45%) than negative (43%) for the first time since July 2013. “We’d found Pat McCrory with a negative approval rating every single month since July 2013 until now,” said Tom Jensen, Director, Public Policy Polling.
Jensen attributed McCrory’s turnabout in favorable job approval to his handling of Hurricane Matthew. “There’s little that’s better for a Governor’s approval ratings than a Hurricane that voters perceive them to have handled well,” said Jensen.
No sooner than the ink was dry on the two paragraphs above, when another poll was released Monday morning, October 24, 2016, this one from Monmouth, showing Governor McCrory ahead of his Democratic rival, Attorney General Roy Cooper, by 48% to 47%.
Even though the PPP survey shows McCrory two points behind Cooper, the results add to mounting evidence that North Carolina’s embattled governor is enjoying the makings of a “Carolina Comeback.” Being behind two points is a far cry from where McCrory was in August, 2016, when all four statewide polls had Cooper ahead by an average of 6 points.
Cooper’s August 2016, 6-point polling advantage declined by only 1 point in September and early October, when 11 statewide polls showed McCrory continuing to run behind by an average of 5 points (See Real Clear Politics for all 2016 polls).
The came Hurricane Matthew.
There have been six statewide polls since the storm hit, with four showing Cooper ahead by an average of only 1.5 points, including the October 24, PPP survey, and two showing McCrory ahead by an average of 1.5 points, including the October 24, Monmouth survey.
As Tom Jensen noted in the PPP analysis, “This race looks more competitive now than it did a month ago when McCrory’s greatest public visibility was coming due to HB2 rather than the natural disaster.”
An example of the favorable commentary regarding McCrory’s handling of Hurricane Matthew seen around the state is the October 21, 2016 Wilmington Star-News Editorial titled, McCrory at best in hurricane response. It includes many accolades like, “Gov. Pat McCrory, his staff, agencies and thousands of state workers deserve credit for a job well done.”
Other accolades in the editorial include, “the state response has been top-notch,” and, “We were impressed that Gov. McCrory and his staff put emergency procedures into motion as soon as forecasters determined we likely were in harm’s way.”
The Wilmington Star-News editorial concluded this way:
“For our money, we like the McCrory we’ve seen at work the past few weeks, leading from the front and working with people of all stripes to help solve problems.
That is the McCrory, we believe, many people voted for.”
With two weeks to go before the final votes are tallied, Governor Pat McCrory’s prospects for a second term are improving with each and every poll.
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