RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – As Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) trails in recent polling against Atty. Gen. Josh Stein (D) in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race, Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said this week he still feels “very comfortable” about the legislative races the GOP has targeted.
Republicans are trying to hold onto their veto-proof supermajority in the state House and Senate. The party currently has the exact number of seats to hold a three-fifths majority in each chamber.
“We are running our Senate races. And, we are very comfortable with the races we originally thought would be competitive,” Berger said.
Democratic and Republican leaders both expect the gubernatorial race to tighten as November draws closer. The RealClearPolitics average of recent polling shows Stein leading Robinson by about 9 percentage points. In 2020, current Gov. Roy Cooper (D) defeated former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R) by about 4.5 percent.
“It’s still, for the governor’s race, I think it’s still kind of early in that. We’ve got 50-some-odd days right now,” said state House Speaker Tim Moore (R), who is running for a seat in Congress this year.