Washington seen as center of corruption

Which of these groups do you think is the most corrupt?

Washington Republicans 43
Washington Democrats 35
Raleigh Democrats 15
Raleigh Republicans 7

When North Carolina voters think about corruption, only 22% of them associate it most with Raleigh. That is a strong indicator of how difficult it will be for Pat McCrory and Republican legislative candidates to win this fall by railing against the culture in Raleigh. Civitas polls in the last two months have shown that many voters don't even know which party is in charge in Raleigh, and that they trust Democrats more than Republicans to bring change to state government.

In 2006 Democrats in North Carolina made gains at the state level despite the specter of Jim Black's issues because voters were much more aware of Republican transgressions at the federal level. It appears that the GOP here will have difficulty dealing with that reality once again. Average North Carolinians just are not that in tune with some of the things that have gone down in Raleigh over the last few years.

If Republicans really want to win in the state this fall they probably need to refocus their message on issues that really impact voters' daily lives.

Full results here.