In a new High Point University Poll, North Carolinians gave President Joe Biden a job approval rating of 32%. More than half (55%) of North Carolina residents said they disapprove of the job President Biden is doing.

The HPU Poll asked North Carolinians on their approval of how President Biden is handling several different issues. About one-third of respondents said they approved of his handling of COVID-19 (40%), education (34%), health care in general (33%), the environment in general (36%), civil rights (34%) and climate change (34%). Fewer respondents approved of President Biden’s handling of the war in Ukraine (30%), abortion (28%), the economy in general (26%), foreign policy in general (28%), inflation (21%) and gas prices (23%).

These same respondents gave Gov. Roy Cooper a job approval rating of 44%, while 29% said they disapprove and 27% did not offer an opinion either way. When asked about the U.S. Congress, respondents gave a job approval rating of 19%, while 59% said they disapprove and 22% did not offer an opinion either way.

More than two-thirds (69%) of North Carolinians said the country is on the wrong track. Just more than one-quarter (21%) of those same respondents said the country is headed in the right direction.

Of the people and things that the recent HPU Poll tested, Cooper had the highest favorability rating at 45%. He was followed by Donald Trump (42%), Kamala Harris (37%), Elon Musk (37%), Joe Biden (35%), and Mike Pence (33%). Incumbent U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr had ratings of 23% and 20% respectively, but more than one-third of North Carolina adults were not familiar enough with them or too unsure to give an opinion either way.

Regarding Republican and Democratic candidates for Richard Burr’s seat in the U.S. Senate, North Carolinians gave Republican nominee Ted Budd a 25% favorability rating and Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley a 31% favorability rating, but more than one-third of North Carolina adults were not familiar enough with them or too unsure to give an opinion either way.

Among other U.S. political institutions that were tested, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a favorability rating of 43% followed by the U.S. Supreme Court (37%) and the Internal Revenue Service (33%).

The poll also tested the favorability of Russia and China which received unfavorable ratings from 80% and 74% of respondents, respectively.

The HPU Poll also asked North Carolina residents about their choice for U.S. Congress in 2022. When asked how they would vote if the elections for U.S. Congress were held today, North Carolinians are divided, with 39% choosing the Republican candidate and 40% choosing the Democratic candidate.

When asked about the North Carolina Senate in Raleigh 40% of North Carolinians say they would choose the Democratic candidate, and 38% say they would choose the Republican candidate. Two out of five (40%) of these same North Carolina residents say they would vote for a Democratic candidate for the North Carolina House, while 37% say they would vote for a Republican candidate. A similar percentage (40%) say they would vote for the Democratic candidate if North Carolina Supreme Court elections were held today, and 36% say they would choose the Republican candidate.

“The most recent HPU Poll has given insight to how North Carolinians are feeling going into this election cycle,” says Brian McDonald, associate director of the HPU Poll and adjunct instructor. “While the poll respondents are basically split on voting for a particular party candidate, about 20% are still unsure who they would vote for if elections were held today.”

NC residents - Country Direction (August 2022)

Do you think things in this country are generally going in the right direction or do you feel things have gotten seriously off on the wrong track?

Right direction – 21%

Wrong track – 69%

Unsure – 10%

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%)

NC residents - Presidential Job Approval (August 2022)

Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Joe Biden is handling his job as president?

Approve – 32%

Disapprove – 55%

Unsure – 13%

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%)

NC residents - Presidential Approval on Issues (August 2022)

Would you say you approve or disapprove of how President Biden is handling each of these issues? (PRESENTED IN RANDOMIZED ORDER)

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

NC residents - NC Governor Approval (August 2022) 

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Roy Cooper is handling his job as Governor of North Carolina? 

Approve – 44%

Disapprove – 29%

Unsure – 27% 

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

NC residents - US Congress Approval (August 2022) 

Do you approve or disapprove of the way that the U.S. Congress is handling its job?  

Approve –19%

Disapprove – 59%

Unsure – 22% 

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

NC residents – Favorability Ratings (August 2022) 

Here is a list of people and things. Please indicate whether you have a favorable or unfavorable view of each of them.

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%)

NC residents – Generic Ballot for Congressional Elections (August 2022) 

If the elections for U.S. Congress were being held today, would you vote for the "Republican Party’s candidate” or the "Democratic Party’s candidate” for Congress in your district? 

Republican candidate – 39%

Democratic candidate – 40%

Other – 4%

Don’t know/Undecided – 18% 

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

NC residents – Generic Ballot for NC Senate Elections (August 2022) 

If the elections for North Carolina Senate were being held today, would you vote for the "Republican Party’s candidate” or the "Democratic Party’s candidate” for N.C. Senate in your district? 

Republican candidate – 38%

Democratic candidate – 40%

Other – 3%

Don’t know/Undecided – 19% 

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

NC residents – Generic Ballot for NC House (August 2022) 

If the elections for North Carolina House were being held today, would you vote for the "Republican Party’s candidate” or the "Democratic Party’s candidate” for N.C. House in your district? 

Republican candidate – 37%

Democratic candidate – 40%

Other – 3%

Don’t know/Undecided – 20% 

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

NC residents – Generic Ballot for North Carolina Supreme Court (August 2022) 

If the elections for North Carolina’s Supreme Court were being held today, would you vote for the "Republican Party’s candidate” or the "Democratic Party’s candidate” for N.C. Supreme Court in your district? 

Republican candidate – 36%

Democratic candidate – 40%

Other – 3%

Don’t know/Undecided – 21% 

(Online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2022, n = 1002 and credibility interval is +/- 3.2%) 

The most recent HPU Poll was fielded by the High Point University Survey Research Center on Aug. 18 through Aug. 25, 2022, as an online survey using a panel of respondents recruited and maintained by dynata. Dynata sent invitations to its panel of NC respondents and the SRC collected responses on its Qualtrics platform. The SRC did all data analysis. The online sample is from a panel of respondents, and their participation does not adhere to usual assumptions associated with random selection. Therefore, it is not appropriate to assign a classic margin of sampling error for the results. In this case, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points to account for a traditional 95% confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 3.1 percentage points) and a design effect of 1.04 (based on the weighting). The data is weighted toward population estimates for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education based on U.S. Census numbers for North Carolina. Factors such as question wording and other methodological choices in conducting survey research can introduce additional errors into the findings of opinion polls. Details from this survey are available here. 

Further results and methodological details from the most recent survey and past studies can be found at the Survey Research Center website. The materials online include past press releases as well as memos summarizing the findings (including approval ratings) for each poll since 2010. 

The HPU Poll reports methodological details in accordance with the standards set out by AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, and the HPU Survey Research Center is a Charter Member of the Initiative. See more information here. 

You can follow the HPU Poll Twitter here. 

Dr. Martin Kifer, chair and associate professor of political science, serves as the director of the HPU Poll, and Brian McDonald is the associate director of the HPU Poll.