NC Senate Poll Preview

We're going to have our newest round of North Carolina Senate primary numbers out tomorrow. If you want an idea of just how little the public campaign before candidates start spending money on media matters, consider this:

-Two months ago 84% of primary voters had no opinion of Cal Cunningham. That figure's now 85%.

-Two months ago 81% had no opinion about Kenneth Lewis. Still the case for 80%.

-Two months ago 62% were ambivalent toward Elaine Marshall. That's still 61%.

The endorsements, forums, speeches to Democratic groups, etc. do pretty much nothing to move poll numbers. Candidate should still do them- you can't raise money 24 hours a day and it's part of the game when you run for public office- but they do very little to move the needle. The nominee will be chosen pretty much completely in these final three weeks.