North Carolinians share outlooks for 2026, 2028 elections

The latest High Point University Poll finds Democratic advantages across a series of generic general-election ballots for federal and North Carolina offices.

2026 General Election Generic Ballots for Federal and State Offices

On the generic general election ballot for U.S. House, 46% of registered voters said they would vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate, 41% said they would vote for the Republican Party’s candidate, 4% said another party, and 10% were unsure.

In the race for the U.S. Senate seat for North Carolina, 46% of registered voters said they would vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate if the election were held today. Meanwhile, 41% said they would vote for the Republican Party’s candidate, 4% said another party, and 9% were unsure.

For the North Carolina General Assembly, 46% of respondents said they would vote for the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House, while 41% said they would vote for the Republican candidate, 4% said another party, and 10% were unsure.

For North Carolina Senate, 46% said they would vote for the Democratic candidate, 41% said they would vote for the Republican candidate, 4% said another party, and 10% were unsure.

For the generic ballot for North Carolina Supreme Court justice, 45% said they would vote for the Democratic candidate, 40% said they would vote for the Republican candidate, 4% said another party, and 11% were unsure.

2026 General Election Generic Ballots for Federal and State Offices

Registered voters were also asked to look further ahead to 2028 elections.

When asked about their choices for president of the United States, 45% of registered voters said they would vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate if the election were held today. Meanwhile, 39% said they would vote for the Republican Party’s candidate, 4% said they would vote for another party’s candidate, and 13% were unsure.

In state-level 2028 generic ballots, 47% of registered voters said they would vote for the Democratic candidate for North Carolina governor, 39% said they would vote for the Republican candidate, 3% said another party, and 12% were unsure.

For North Carolina attorney general, 44% said they would vote for the Democratic candidate, 39% said they would vote for the Republican candidate, 3% said another party, and 14% were unsure.

Generic Ballots – Registered Voters

Self-identified registered voters – 2026 U.S. House Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the elections for U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for the [‘Democratic Party’s candidate’ or the ‘Republican Party’s candidate’] for U.S. House of Representatives in your district?

Republican — 41%
Democrat — 46%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 10%

Self-identified registered voters – 2026 U.S. Senate Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the elections for U.S. Senate were being held today, would you vote for the [“Democratic Party’s candidate” or the “Republican Party’s candidate”] for U.S. Senate?

Republican — 41%
Democrat — 46%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 9%

 Self-identified registered voters – 2026 N.C. House Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the elections for the North Carolina House of Representatives in Raleigh were being held today, would you vote for the [“Democratic Party’s candidate” or the “Republican Party’s candidate”] for North Carolina House in your district?

Republican — 41%
Democrat — 46%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 10%

 Self-identified registered voters – 2026 N.C. Senate Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the elections for the North Carolina Senate in Raleigh were being held today, would you vote for the [“Democratic Party’s candidate” or the “Republican Party’s candidate”] for North Carolina Senate in your district?

Republican — 41%
Democrat — 46%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 10%

Self-identified registered voters – 2026 N.C. Supreme Court Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the election for the North Carolina Supreme Court justice was being held today, would you vote for the “Republican Party’s candidate” or the “Democratic Party’s candidate” for North Carolina Supreme Court?

Republican — 40%
Democrat — 45%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 11%

Self-identified registered voters – 2028 U.S. President Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the elections for President of the United States were being held today, would you vote for the [“Democratic Party’s candidate” or the “Republican Party’s candidate”] for U.S. President?

Republican — 39%
Democrat — 45%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 13%

Self-identified registered voters – 2028 North Carolina Governor Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the election for North Carolina Governor were being held today, would you vote for the [“Democratic Party’s candidate” or the “Republican Party’s candidate”] for North Carolina Governor?

Republican — 39%
Democrat — 47%
Another party — 4%
Unsure — 12%

Self-identified registered voters – 2028 North Carolina Attorney General Generic Ballot (February 2026)

If the election for North Carolina Attorney General were being held today, would you vote for the [“Democratic Party’s candidate” or the “Republican Party’s candidate”] for North Carolina Attorney General?

Republican — 39%
Democrat — 44%
Another party — 3%
Unsure — 14%

HPU Poll 119 was fielded by the High Point University Survey Research Center on Feb. 6 through Feb. 20 as an online survey using a panel of respondents recruited and maintained by Dynata. Dynata sent invitations to its panel of North Carolina respondents and the SRC collected 1,115 responses on its Qualtrics platform. Respondents were asked two screening questions concerning their voter registration status. That group is considered to be self-reported registered voters. That group totaled 876 self-identified registered voters.  All screening questions are reported in the memo accompanying this release (https://www.highpoint.edu/src/hpupoll/ ). 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. The poll interviewed a total of 1115 North Carolina residents. In this case, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3 percentage points to account for a traditional 95% confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 2.9 percentage points)