Democrat leads in three most recent July gubernatorial polls

(The Center Square) – Attorney General Josh Stein has begun to take a lead in North Carolina gubernatorial election polls against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

In what remains a very close race Stein, the Democrats’ candidate, led the Republican Robinson by 1, 6 and 3 points in polls each of fewer than 600 likely voters and all conducted July 16 or later. Each is chasing history – Stein to be the state’s first Jewish governor, Robinson the first Black.

Gov. Roy Cooper is finishing his second consecutive term, the limit by state law, capping 13 consecutive winning elections dating to November 1984. Since Daniel Lindsay Scott Russell's 1897-2001 tenure , the governor's office has had a Democrat every year sans Baptist Oliver Max Gardner (1929-33), and Republicans James Holshouser (1973-77), Jim Martin (1985-93) and Pat McCrory (2013-16).

The most recent statewide poll, from July 22-24 of 586 likely voters, had Stein with 38%, Robinson 34%, Libertarian Mike Ross 3% and the Green Party’s Wayne Turner 1%. Notable is that 104 days from Election Day when the sampling closed, 23% selected "don’t know."

The poll was conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, sponsored by The Telegraph.

Earlier, in a July 16-18 poll by Redfield & Wilton of 461 likely voters, Stein captured 37% to Robinson’s 36%. Ross and Turner each netted 1%. The "don't know" selection was 23%.

The other poll to be done last month for the state was by Public Policy Polling, sponsored by Democratic-funded Clean and Prosperous America, a political action committee. Stein led Robinson 48%-42%.

That’s the largest difference in a statewide poll for the race since a May 2-9 sampling of 804 registered voters by High Point University Survey Research Center had Robinson leading Stein 39%-34%.

Election Day is 96 days away. Absentee mail-in ballots begin going out in 35 days, on Sept. 6.