Press Releases

NEW POLL: North Carolinians Favor Reformer Cal Cunningham By 2 Points Over Incumbent Senator Thom Tillis

Sep 19, 2019

Senator Tillis’ decision to join in on Washington’s corrupt game and take $2.1 million from corporate PACs has endangered his reelection.

Cunningham opens up a 7-point lead over Tillis after voters hear the contrast in their records on the corrupting influence of money in politics and taking corporate PAC money.

A new poll of North Carolina voters, commissioned by End Citizens United (ECU) and conducted by North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling (PPP), shows incumbent Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) with an all-time-low favorability rating of 33 percent and reformer Cal Cunningham beating the sitting Senator 45 to 43 percent in the U.S. Senate race.

After hearing about how Cal Cunningham is refusing to accept money from the same corporate PACs that have given $2.1 million to Senator Tillis, Cal Cunningham opens up at 7-point lead, with an 8-point swing in Cal’s favor among Independents.

Click here to see the polling results and crosstabs. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percent.

The poll shows that Tillis is vulnerable for his decision to join in on the corrupt game in Washington where special interest donors buy off politicians. Voters are tired of the ways that long-time politicians like Senator Tillis rake in millions of dollars from corporate special interest donors in exchange for votes that harm everyday North Carolinians.

Additionally, only 59 percent of Trump voters have a favorable opinion of the incumbent Senator and 67 percent of North Carolinians believe most or almost all of political campaign funding comes from lobbyists and special interest PACs.

The poll shows that 64 percent of North Carolina voters, including 63 percent of Trump voters, support new anti-corruption legislation. As a sign of the corrupting influence that corporate money has over Senator Tillis, he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have decided to not allow a fair up-or-down vote on the For The People Act, the major anti-corruption bill that new reformers helped pass in the U.S. House.

An ECU-endorsed candidate, Cal Cunningham is showing his commitment to reform by refusing corporate PAC money and has made rooting out the corrupting influence of corporate special interest money in politics a cornerstone of his Senate campaign.

“North Carolinians are fed up with Sen. Thom Tillis being a key player in Washington’s corruption,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Over the course of his career, Tillis has taken millions of dollars from the corporate special interests that sway his vote at the expense of North Carolina families. Cal Cunningham is listening to voters by building a people-powered campaign, and North Carolina families have noticed. Cunningham is leading the way for new leadership in North Carolina while Tillis is failing in his campaign to protect the special interest status quo.”

ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington so government works for all Americans. The group played a pivotal role in helping to pass the For the People Act, a once-in-a-generation anti-corruption and reform bill in the U.S House. ECU also led the movement among candidates to forgo corporate PAC money in their campaigns. Nearly 60 members of the 116th Congress are refusing to take corporate PAC money, including over 30 new members of the House freshman class. The reform group has four million members nationwide and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.

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