Republican Tracking Poll: Governor

Governor without McCrory:

Fred Smith 25
Bill Graham 17
Bob Orr 6
Undecided 52

Governor with McCrory:

Fred Smith 20
Bill Graham 14
Pat McCrory 14
Bob Orr 4
Undecided 47

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory would start with a strong regional base but little statewide support if he got into the Republican race for Governor. He earned the support of 44% of respondents in the Charlotte area and 18% of those within the 828 area code for western North Carolina, parts of which are within the Charlotte TV market. In the other four regions of the state, his support does not exceed 4% If he gets into the race he will have to get out of Charlotte and spend a lot of time and money building his visibility in the Triad, Triangle, and eastern North Carolina.

With or without McCrory, Fred Smith remains in the lead for a second month in a row in the PPP tracking poll. Bill Graham had led the rest of the year but he has been quiet lately while Smith embarked on a statewide barbecue tour that generated a lot of positive media attention and grassroots support.

The specter of a McCrory entrance into the race seems to affect all the current candidates equally rather than having a strong negative impact on the support of any individual candidate.

Full results here