NC-Sen: Burr In Extremely Bad Shape

It wouldn't just be a pleasure to get rid of Richard Burr because he's a Republican, but because he's a really bad right-wing reactionary Republican. Unlike beating an Arlen Specter or a Gordon Smith or a Lincoln Chafee, who may occasionally have voted with Democrats, Burr is about as hard-core conservative as you get, and way out of step in a newly purplish North Carolina. I don't know much about Roy Cooper, but it's not possible that he's worse than Burr.

A fresh look at how Roy Cooper would fare if he challenged Richard Burr next year yields basically the same results as a December poll, the newest survey from Public Policy Polling finds.

Cooper leads Burr 41-37 in the hypothetical contest, a margin similar to the 39-34 one he held the previous time PPP polled it.

Burr’s approval rating continues to languish in the mid 30s, with 35% of voters in the state expressing support for the job he’s doing and 31% dissenting. 41% of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Cooper with just 20% holding a negative view of him.

“If Roy Cooper enters the race for US Senate this race automatically becomes a tossup, if not even slightly Democratic leaning,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “It’s quite unusual for an incumbent who doesn’t have major ethical problems to trail an unannounced challenger.”

Welcome to the brave new world, GOP.