New poll shows race a dead heat

A new poll of likely voters in North Carolina’s 9^th Congressional District shows the race as a dead heat between Jennifer Roberts and Robert Pittenger.

Jennifer Roberts’ strength among unaffiliated voters provides her with a clear path to victory in this district where registered Republicans make up 42% of likely voters and Democrats make up 30% of likely voters, with unaffiliated voters at 28%.

The poll of likely voters in Mecklenburg, Union and Iredell counties shows Jennifer Roberts with 37 percent support and Robert Pittenger with 38 percent, with 22 percent undecided and Libertarian Curtis Campbell with 3 percent.

“This poll confirms what we have been hearing out in the community,” said Roberts. “My proven record of working with both Democrats and Republicans to get things done is especially important in this race.  People are tired of the self-interested, insider politics that are a serious problem in Washington and the hallmark of Robert Pittenger’s campaign. I will continue to work with all groups to get things done for the Charlotte area.”

Major findings of the poll include:

• Jennifer Roberts’ base of support is as strong and large as Pittenger’s, 30% of voters say they strongly support Pittenger and 31% say they strongly support Roberts.
• Jennifer Roberts is particularly strong in Mecklenburg County, where she is leading Pittenger 42% to 33%.
• Unaffiliated voters make up 28 percent of likely voters and favor Roberts by 12 percentage points, 41% to 29%.

Methodology: Lake Research Partners designed and administered this telephone survey, using professional interviewers, with 407 likely November voters in NC-09. The survey was conducted September 9-11, 2012. Telephone numbers for the sample were generated from a list of registered voters in North Carolina. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 4.86 percentage points and greater for sub-groups.