CHARLOTTE — There are two big issues that are top of mind for voters as they head to the polls starting Thursday for in-person early voting in North Carolina. The WSOC-TV and WRAL poll found the economy and health care are the most important issues for voters.
The poll found that since the 2024 election, 51 percent of North Carolinians say their life and financial standing have gotten worse. Of those people who say their lives have gotten worse, 52 percent lay blame for that on President Donald Trump. The poll found 27 percent say the president, congressional leaders from both parties and local politicians all share the blame. Nine percent blame Democrats in Congress.
Among the 17% who said their standing has improved, the poll found 28% say Donald Trump gets most of the credit; 19% say it’s Republicans in Congress, 18% Democrats in Congress; 11% give the credit to local politicians in North Carolina and 15% say it’s all of the above.
The economy has been the dominant issue in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race. Roy Cooper has been holding events called “Make Stuff Cost Less” and Michael Whatley has been holding events called “Make More Keep More.”
Political science professor Chris Cooper says between the Iran war and grocery prices, it’s not surprising this pocketbook issue is driving folks to the polls.
“Folks can call it the economy. They can call it affordability. It’s the same thing, right?” Chris Cooper said. “People don’t feel like they can afford to live the lifestyle that they that they deserve to live, and so that is going to be the number one driver for most people. Gas prices are part of it, but that’s not going to magically disappear with a decrease in the gas tax in North Carolina. So yes, economy, economy, economy.”
The poll found the economy was slightly more important to Cooper voters (9.0) than Whatley voters (8.6). It scored the highest in all areas of the state. Health care scored half a point higher for Cooper voters than Whatley voters (8.8 vs. 8.2).
While the economy and health care were the top polling issues of 2026 North Carolinian voters, the two issues polled as having the “least” impact on motivation to vote were immigration and abortion. Immigration was more of a priority for Whatley voters and abortion was more of a priority for Cooper voters.
The poll asked whether North Carolinians were optimistic or pessimistic about the economic outlook for their own family over the next year. The poll found 44% say optimistic, 37% pessimistic.
WSOC and WRAL teamed up with SurveyUSA for the poll. It was conducted October 7-11.
Rankings of the 11 issues polled by WSOC and WRAL:
The poll asked likely November voters to rank 11 issues on a scale of 1 to 10 to show how important each will be to them when they vote this November. Issues were presented to voters in random order.
- 8.8: The economy
- 8.6: Healthcare
- 7.9: Crime / public safety
- 7.9: National security / international conflicts
- 7.9: Defending democracy
- 7.7: Education
- 7.5: Mental health or addiction
- 7.1: The environment
- 7.0: Gun rights / control
- 6.9: Immigration / border control
- 6.8: Abortion
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