Presidential race a toss-up in North Carolina survey

The 2024 U.S. presidential race is currently a toss-up in the battleground state of North Carolina, according to a new poll released Thursday. 

Both former President Trump and his election opponent, Vice President Harris, garnered 48 percent support from likely voters in North Carolina, according to a High Point University survey. Around 2 percent said they would choose someone else while another 2 percent were unsure. 

The outlook is slightly different among registered Tar Heel State voters, with Harris having the upper hand. The Democratic nominee leads Trump by 2 points, 48 percent support to 46 percent. Some 2 percent of registered North Carolina voters said they would pick another option, while 4 percent said they were not sure. 

The economy was the top issue, for both likely voters, 31 percent, and self-identified registered voters, 32 percent, in the state. Managing immigration was the second most important issue, and in third place was protecting Social Security. Abortion laws were fourth at 9 percent, according to the survey. 

Trump, the GOP nominee, led Harris by 2 points among likely voters in North Carolina, according to an East Carolina University survey released Tuesday. The former president earned 49 percent support while the Democratic nominee earned 47 percent. 

A similar gap was found in a poll published later Tuesday by The Washington Post. Trump was ahead by 2 points, 50 percent to 48 percent, among the Tar Heel State's likely voters. 

The former president currently leads Harris by 0.7 percentage points in North Carolina, a state he won in 2020 by less than 2 points, according to the latest The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s aggregate of polls. 

The High Point University Poll was conducted Sept. 20-29 among 814 registered voters and 589 likely voters. For registered voters, the margin of error was 3.6 percentage points. The margin of error among likely voters was 4.9 percentage points.