Bipartisan Support In NC For Raising The Minimum Wage, Poll Finds

NORTH CAROLINA — More than 75 percent of North Carolinians and representing both political parties are in favor of raising the minimum wage, according to the findings of a new statewide poll released Monday.

"All demographic groups, including Republicans (65.1 percent) favor the state raising the minimum wage," the spring 2021 Meredith Poll of registered voters said. "The real issue among respondents is how high the wage should be raised."

A political and geographic divide emerged among respondents when faced with a choice of raising the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $10, $12 or $15 an hour, according to the poll. Those favoring lower increases were Republicans, older voters and those living in suburban or rural counties, while younger voters, Democrats and those living in more urban counties supported higher increases.

“It is clear that there is a great deal of support from moving the minimum wage beyond $7.25/hour, but serious differences exist between many groups in the state about how high the wage should be,” said Poll Director David McLennan.

And when it comes to the idea of a statewide mask mandate — something North Carolina has employed since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic — nearly two-thirds of North Carolinians support it.

Any notion of consensus, however, breaks down along party lines.

"Over twice as many respondents favor keeping the mask mandate in the state (64.2 percent) than say we should eliminate it (29.9 percent)," the poll said. "There is a large partisan gap in responses to this question with over 82 percent of Democrats wanting to retain the mask mandate and over 53 percent of Republicans wanting to end it immediately."

When it came to COVID business restrictions, there was less overall support, with only about 56 percent of North Carolinians favoring retaining restrictions, such as restaurant indoor seating limits. About 37 percent of respondents said such restrictions should end, with 60 percent of Republicans saying they wanted all restrictions on businesses eliminated. In comparison, about 71 percent of Democrats said they wanted the COVID restrictions to stay in place.

More than half of respondents in the poll — 56 percent — said they approved of President Biden after his first two months in office.

“Joe Biden has the same approval ratings that most new presidents have in their first few months. The exception was President Donald Trump, who began his presidency with approval ratings in the mid-40 percent range,” McLennan said.

Overall, Gov. Roy Cooper had similar approval, with 55.5 percent approving of the job he's doing for North Carolina. Support, unsurprisingly, was largely determined along party lines, with more than 70 percent of Republican respondents saying they did not approve of the job Cooper was doing.

“Governor Cooper’s approval ratings remain strong," McLennan said, “in part because he is perceived as providing the leadership necessary as North Carolina continues navigating the COVID19 pandemic and its effects.”

You can read more about the latest Meredith Poll findings and its methodology here.

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