ECU Poll: Cooper's Lead Holds at 7 Points

OCTOBER 8, 2026, GREENVILLE NC

The latest ECU Poll of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, conducted September 30 through October 3, finds Democratic nominee Roy Cooper leading Republican nominee Michael Whatley, 50% to 43%, with only 6% remaining undecided and 2% supporting a minor-party or write-in candidate. The seven-point margin is the same as in our report from last month, although the share of undecided voters has dropped from 14% to 6%. In a forced-choice scenario in which “undecided” is removed as an option, Cooper’s lead remains at seven percentage points, with 53% supporting Cooper and 46% supporting Whatley. The poll has a credibility interval of +/- 4 percentage points, which is similar to a traditional margin of error.

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• The latest ECU Poll of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race finds Democratic nominee Roy Cooper leading Republican nominee Michael Whatley by seven points, 50% to 43%, with the margin unchanged from last month as the share of undecided voters falls from 14% to 6%.
• A majority of likely voters (55%) name the economy and cost of living as their top issue, and among these voters Cooper expands his lead to 60% versus 31%.
• Cooper’s advantage is driven in part by a 16-point lead among independents (52% to 36% with about 7% undecided) and a net-positive favorability rating (48% favorable to 43% unfavorable), while Whatley’s ratings are net-negative (31% favorable to 43% unfavorable).

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The ECU Center for Survey Research, which directed this poll, is a member of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative (TI). For additional information about the ECU Poll and its methodology, please refer to the documentation provided in the TI report.

Peter Francia
252-328-6126
[email protected]

Source: ECU Center for Survey Research

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