Democrat Roy Cooper has an 11-point lead over Republican Michael Whatley in the Senate race in North Carolina, according to a new poll from The Carolina Journal/Harper Polling.

The survey, released last week, found that nearly half of 600 likely voters in North Carolina said they would either “definitely” or “probably” back Cooper, the former two-term governor of the state, if the election were held that day.

Less than 39 percent of respondents, meanwhile, said they would “definitely” or “probably” support Whatley, who spent nearly a year-and-a-half as chair of the Republican National Committee before leaving last August to run for Senate.

Less than 4 percent of respondents said they would vote for someone else and 7.8 percent said they were unsure.

The survey, conducted from May 10 to 11, had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Cooper’s double-digit margin in the poll is an increase relative to a survey conducted by Carolina Forward from May 4 to 8. In that poll, the former governor held a 49 percent to 42 percent edge over Whatley among 957 likely voters, with 9 percent of respondents unsure.

The Carolina Forward survey had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

The winner of the race will succeed Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a two-term senator who is departing the upper chamber. Tillis won both of his Senate races by less than 2 points.

A Democrat has not represented North Carolina in the Senate since former Sen. Kay Hagan left Congress in 2015 after losing to Tillis. But Cooper, who spent 16 years as state attorney general before moving in to the governor’s mansion, won each of his six statewide races dating back to 2000.

The Cooper campaign also boasts a significant financial edge over Whatley. As of the end of March, the Democratic nominee’s campaign had more than $18.4 million on hand, while the GOP nominee’s campaign had more than $2.5 million on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.

But the Senate Leadership Fund, affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), announced last month that it is investing $71 million to assist Whatley.

On the campaign trail, Whatley has criticized Cooper’s approach to public safety as governor and has focused on issues such as agriculture and manufacturing.

Cooper, on the other hand, has focused on affordability during his 10 months on the trail. The cost of living in North Carolina is 4 percent lower than the national average, according to RentCafe.

“We need somebody who will go to the United States Senate who will put the people first, and that is what I will do,” Cooper told a crowd last week in Johnston County, North Carolina. “I’m going to put the people before power. I’m going to put the people before party. I’m going to put the people before politics. The people will be my entire focus.”

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