Former President Donald Trump opened up a lead in North Carolina over President Joe Biden, the latest signal of Trump’s growing momentum in the general election race. The former president’s lead also corresponds with a number of recent polls that show Trump in the lead both nationally and in most of the critical swing states for the November election.
According to the latest Cygnal/John Locke Foundation/Carolina Journal poll, Trump leads in the Tarheel State by 5%. Trump gained 45% of likely voters while Biden trailed with 40%.
There was more potential bad news for Biden from within the poll, as Trump led on the issue of voter enthusiasm. When asked about how committed the respondents were to each candidate, more than 41% said that they would “definitely” vote for Trump. Only about 33% of voters said the same about Biden.
More than 9% of those polled said that they planned to vote for another candidate.
Trump has also opened up a small but significant national lead according to recent polls. Trump did not lead Biden nationally in any average during the 2020 election cycle.
The former president now leads Biden by almost 2% in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Why does Biden seem less than eager to debate President Trump?
If his record of success on the economy, the border and foreign policy were so strong, his team should be rushing to get something set up.
Biden trails in nearly every swing state poll, nearly every national… pic.twitter.com/TsvSgPMLsD
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) March 10, 2024
In the last thirteen major national polls, Trump is leading in nine of them. This includes a recent Rasmussen Reports poll from earlier this month which placed Trump ahead by 8%. In three other recent polls, the former president leads Biden by 4%. Biden is ahead in just four polls, with two showing a 1% lead and two showing a 2% lead.
Other polls have also shown that voters trust Trump on most of the issues that could determine the election. Trump leads on the question of who could best handle subjects such as the economy, foreign policy, inflation, crime and the ongoing border crisis.
In addition, Trump also leads Biden on the question of which leader shows greater mental and physical acuity. A variety of polls show that a large majority of Americans are concerned about Biden’s age. At 81, Biden is currently the oldest president in American history and would be 86 at the end of a second term.
In addition, when voters are asked whether Trump or Biden had the mental or physical health to lead the country, Trump consistently is in the lead.
