Public Policy Polling

Patrick McHenry seems to think of himself as some kind of celebrity. According to some friends in the GOP (as misled as they seem to be), Patrick McHenry didn't even show up to the Catawba County debate... he didn't send someone to speak on his behalf, either. Except for sending someone to "secretly" monitor the debate (I imagine with a shoe-phone and spy glasses from a cereal box), Patrick McHenry didn't care. So, the question has to be asked: where's McHenry?

Since when do polling companies engage in criticism of the the subjects of their polls?

The leaders in PPP's newest set of polls for the Democratic primary are Barack Obama, Bev Perdue, Kay Hagan, Pat Smathers, Janet Cowell, June Atkinson, and Beth Wood.

I had to laugh when I checked Bob Orr's blog today and found him whining about the mean old pollsters at Public Policy Polling. Orr thinks the fact that PPP is owned by a wealthy Democrat casts a shadow over the organization's credibility. He also points out that Carter Wrenn, a notorious right-wing hit-man, has questioned the reliability of PPP's polling. Then Orr goes on to complain that the corporate media lap it all up like it's nobody's business.

The irony of Orr's complaint is quite nearly breath-taking. This from a man who worked for years as one of Art Pope's henchmen, a wealthy Republican who spends upwards of $4 million a year sliming North Carolina new media with enough half-assed polling to gag a boa constrictor.

The December primary tracking poll results for the Democratic side are now available. Click here for complete results.

Here's a snapshot:

Perdue 41
Moore 32
Undecided 27

You can see our full poll results here and a commentary from Public Policy Polling President Dean Debnam about what it means for future transfer tax referendums here. Here are partial numbers:

Frontpaged by A.

The November primary tracking poll results are now available. Click here for complete results. Also check the PPP Blog.

Our poll features the first Democratic senate primary poll results.

24% Hagan
13% Neal
8% Hendrix

Keep reading for a bit about my future...

Complete results here. PPP Blog.

Kay Hagan vs. Elizabeth Dole
Dole 46%
Hagan 33%

Hagan does about as expected. Remember that last week our poll found Jim Neal trailing Elizabeth Dole 47% to 32%. Neither starts off with any advantage in polling.

Frontpaged by Anglico

PPP Blog. Complete results here.

Getting right to it:

Dole vs. Neal
Dole 47%
Neal 32%

Neal performs similarly to other Democrats that lack statewide name recognition. His results are similar to Grier Martin, Kay Hagan and Jerry Meek. Dole is still below the 50% mark.

Frontpaged by Anglico. Thanks, Justin.

Results from our October tracking polls are out. Click here for complete results. PPP Blog.

Democratic President
Clinton 32%
Edwards 31%
Obama 20%

This is Clinton second consecutive month in the lead over John Edwards. Obama was doing better in the spring, but fallen into a clear third.

Republican President
Thompson 31%
Giuliani 20%
McCain 11%
Romney 11%

Giuliani closed the gap between him and Fred Thompson by 7% in the last month. Maybe North Carolina voters are picking up on the dud that is Fred Thompson’s campaign. McCain also went up 4 points, following a national trend.

Democratic Governor
Perdue 39%
Moore 29%

Perdue formally announced her candidacy on October 1 and we polled two days later. 39% is the highest she has been in our poll, but she has lead by 10 percent before. Not clear if this is a bump or a trend.