Cunningham, Tillis locked in tight race in North Carolina: poll

Sen. Thom Tillis (R) and Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham are running neck-and-neck in North Carolina’s Senate race, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday. 

Cunningham leads incumbent Tillis by only 2 points, with Cunningham garnering 49 percent support from likely voters and Tillis garnering 47 percent support.

The difference between the two candidates in the survey falls within its 4.5-point margin of error.

About a quarter of likely voters felt that the recent news of Cunningham’s affair was important to their decision. Cunningham, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, admitted to having an affair and requested privacy regarding what he called a personal matter. 

News of his affair did not appear to significantly affect his campaign, as he has maintained a lead ahead of Tillis since the news broke. Tillis and other Republican groups have seized on the affair, stressing that Cunningham has put the importance of duty and character at the center of his campaign. 

Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said that control of the Senate by either the Democratic or Republican party was important to their vote.

The GOP grip on the majority is in jeopardy this election cycle as vulnerable Republicans like Tillis and Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Martha McSally (Ariz.) and even Lindsey Graham (S.C.) are running tight races with just weeks to go until the general election. 

Democrats need to flip three or four Senate seats to gain the majority in the upper chamber, depending on which party wins the White House. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is currently attempting to secure two wins for the GOP, passing a second coronavirus aid bill and confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The efforts are an attempt to bolster vulnerable GOP incumbents in their races this November. 

In the same Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 50 percent of likely North Carolina voters said they support Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and 48 percent said they support President Trump.

The poll interviewed 795 adults in North Carolina from Oct. 12 to 17.