Harris, Trump locked in close race in North Carolina: Poll

Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are separated by only 2 points in North Carolina, according to a new survey.

The poll, published Tuesday by The Washington Post, shows the former president with 50 percent support from likely voters in the Tar Heel State, compared to 48 percent who backed Harris. The lead falls within the poll's margin of error.

Roughly 1 percent of respondents said they would back someone else, while 2 percent said they were unsure.

A similar poll released Tuesday from East Carolina University also shows Trump ahead by 2 points in the state.

North Carolina is one of a handful of critical swing states the party nominees might need to capture to win the White House next month. In an average of North Carolina polls from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ, the former president garnered 48.5 percent support to the vice president’s 48 percent.

The Post poll also found North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) leading Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) in the gubernatorial race by a wide margin, with Stein earning 54 percent support from likely voters to the lieutenant governor’s 38 percent. About 8 percent also said they had no opinion or would not vote in the governor's election.

North Carolina has come into the national spotlight in recent weeks following a bombshell CNN report on Robinson that unveiled a large span of inflammatory comments he reportedly made on a pornography website’s message board more than 10 years ago, like calling himself a “black NAZI.” The state has also faced devastation from Hurricane Helene, which has stalled campaign events in three battleground states.

Among registered voters, 80 percent said they were "extremely motivated" to vote in the election, now just 35 days away. Broken down by party nominee, 83 percent of Trump supporters said they were motivated to vote compared to 81 percent of Harris supporters, the poll found.

North Carolina has not voted for a Democratic nominee since former President Obama won the state in 2008.

The Post survey was conducted between Sep. 25-29 among 1,001 people, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.