The latest Elon University Poll found distinct voter preferences among fan bases for North Carolina's top three college men's hoops teams.
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It seems the jersey colors of the premier men’s college basketball teams from North Carolina might also reveal their fans’ picks for president.
The latest Elon University Poll asked likely voters to share which North Carolina men’s hoops programs they support during college basketball season. Of the top three schools cited in the poll:
- Those who wear the “red” of the North Carolina State University Wolfpack overwhelmingly back Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, by a 59-30 margin.
- UNC Tar Heel fans and their “Carolina blue” apparel prefer incumbent President Barack Obama this fall by a 53-41 margin.
- And Duke University? Blue Devils supporters are nearly divided with a slight edge favoring Obama (47-45 percent).
In the race for North Carolina governor, it turns out there is something that unites diehard fans of all persuasions: Pat McCrory.
The Republican former mayor of Charlotte, N.C., draws support from all three fan bases, most notably from N.C. State fans, where 63 percent of Wolfpack voters said they support McCrory over his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton. Tar Heel fans would vote for McCrory as well by a 52-38 margin. Duke fans are more evenly divided, though McCrory still holds a 47-43 edge.
The live-caller telephone poll of 1,238 likely voters was conducted Oct. 21-26, 2012, and has an overall margin of error of 2.79 percentage points. Both landlines and cell phones were included in the sample.