NC Sen: Endangered Burr Tough Fight Against Dem Opponent, Says New Poll

For a long time, Richard Burr (R-NC) has been viewed as the most endangered incumbent Republican Senator, and the news for him has just gotten worse. A new PPP poll has him statistically tied with likely Democratic challenger, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. Burr holds a slightly stronger lead over the other Democrat in the race, former state senator Cal Cunningham, but Burr is still well below 50 percent.

Marshall 42%
Burr 43%
Undecided 15%

Cunningham 39%
Burr 44%
Undecided 17%

The poll is good news for Marshall, who will probably face a primary runoff election against Cunningham in a few weeks. Marshall not only got significantly more votes than Cunningham in the first round of voting, but can now use this poll to make a strong case for why she is the more electable Democrat.

Burr is the only incumbent Republican Senator who is likely to lose in the general election. (Most Republican Senators who saw themselves facing serious general election challenges this cycle chose not to seek re-election.) If the poll numbers continue to look good for Marshall, expect North Carolina to be a big focus of Democrats looking to make up for expected losses elsewhere.