Raleigh – A new poll released by WRAL/SurveyUSA on Tuesday shows that former Vice President Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by a nearly two-to-one margin among North Carolina voters who say the coronavirus is a major factor in how they will vote in November. It also showed Biden leading Trump by 5 points overall in North Carolina, 50 percent to 45 percent.

As of Tuesday morning, North Carolina has recorded more than 360 deaths due to the coronavirus, with more than 9,700 confirmed cases in the state.

Emergency management leaders told reporters this week that the state continues to struggle with a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers, particularly N95 masks. The state has received only a fraction of the PPE it requested from the federal stockpile earlier this year.

“This latest poll shows that North Carolinians are clear eyed about the Trump administration’s complete failure to mitigate this public health crisis,” said NCDP Communications Director Austin Cook. “It’s been nearly two months since President Trump said that anyone seeking a test could get one; that statement was false on March 6 and it remains false today. Instead of taking responsibility and working to ramp up testing, he has blamed everyone from President Obama, to China to the WHO. This new survey shows that North Carolina’s voters are seeing right through his misdirection.”

Highlights from the poll: 

• “Seventy percent of likely voters said President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic would factor into how they will vote for president”
• “Among voters who say Trump’s handling of coronavirus is a major factor, Biden leads 61 to 34 percent”

Read the full WRAL story on the poll’s findings HERE.