Former Federation Leader Within Striking Distance In Key House Race, Poll Shows
Former Jewish Federation leader Kathy Manning was trailing in her North Carolina congressional race, but within striking distance of one-term incumbent Republican Rep. Ted Budd, a New York Times live poll showed.
Manning, who is a part of crop of Jews that have excelled at fundraising in their efforts to flip key swing districts, was down 47%-41% with 12% of voters still undecided, according to The Times survey of nearly 500 voters in the 13th District running from Greensboro west to rural conservative counties. The survey has a 5% margin of error.
President Trump won the district by nine points in 2016, the and non-partisan election forecasters Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections all give Republicans the edge.
Manning outraised Budd by more than $700,000 from April through June. And she hopes more moderate voters may be turned off by the incumbent’s strident conservatism. Budd voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and is affiliated with the House Freedom Caucus.
While Trump had a 48% approval rating in the district, according to the poll, voters were evenly split on whether their representative should support the president or act as a check on his agenda.
Manning was the first woman to chair the Jewish Federation of North America. The lawyer and small business owner is also well known in the community for her philanthropic work. She has been involved with organizations including the United Way and Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, according to the campaign’s website.
The Democrats have been increasingly focused on turning North Carolina blue. The national party held their 2012 national convention in Charlotte after former president Barack Obama narrowly carried the state in 2008. Democrat Roy Cooper narrowly won the gubernatorial election by around 10,000 votes in 2016.
Contact Ben Fractenberg at fractenberg@forward.com or on Twitter, @fractenberg
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