Meredith Poll gauges voter opinions on national and state policy ideas, approval of political leaders

Published 12:01 p.m. Thursday

In a survey that was in the field from February 3-10, 2025, voters were polled on their approval or disapproval of policy ideas related to Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal, replacing civil servants with political appointees, drilling on federal lands, and closing the Department of Education. On a state level, they were asked about legalizing medical marijuana and casino gambling on non-Native lands. They were also asked to weigh in on the prospect of federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe.

Other topics include approval of the president and governor early in their terms. Respondents were also asked to describe their personal financial situation.

Almost three-quarters of North Carolinians consider their current financial situation to be fair or poor (71%) with only 28 percent considering their financial situation to be excellent or good. Most North Carolinians, however, are optimistic about their financial situations one year from now with almost two-thirds responding that their finances will improve “a lot” or “some” and only nineteen percent thinking their situation will get worse.

Across demographic groups, there is a great deal of consistency in terms of the perception of their current financial situation, as well as optimism for future improvement. The only group with a significantly different perception of their current financial situation was those with less than a high school diploma–only 4.3 percent considered their situation to be excellent or good. Among those who were optimistic about their financial futures, Republicans (80.5%) were more likely to say their financial situation would improve a great deal or some more so than Democratic (58.7%) or unaffiliated (57.3%) respondents.

“The 2024 elections were really about how people felt about their financial situations. Despite Democrats, like Kamala Harris, touting the strength of the U.S. economy, people did not feel it,” said Meredith Poll Director David McLennan. “As President Trump’s policies take shape in the coming months, it will be interesting to track the feelings of North Carolinians about their financial futures.”

Panama Canal On the question of using economic coercion (e.g., tariffs) to regain control over the canal, slightly less than one-third (32%) of respondents supported that idea with just under one-half (48%) opposing that idea. On the question of using the U.S. military to retake control, support dropped to 24 percent and opposition went up to 59 percent. It is worth noting that almost one-in-five respondents were undecided, probably because they lacked knowledge about the issue.

There were major partisan differences on both questions related to the canal. There was very little support among Democratic voters (11.1%) and unaffiliated voters (26.7%) for using economic coercion to regain control over the canal, but 60.6% of Republican respondents supported that approach. On the question about using military force, the difference between Democrats and Republicans dropped, although 42.4% of Republicans favor the use of the military to regain control over the canal.

Greenland The issue of acquiring Greenland is even less popular than re-acquiring control over the Panama Canal, despite President Trump raising this issue during his first term and again as he reassumed the presidency. Just over 20 percent of respondents support the idea of using economic coercion to gain control over Greenland and only 14 percent want to use military force to accomplish that goal. A majority –60%-– does not want to use economic coercion and an even larger percentage –69%– does not want to use the U.S. military to acquire Greenland.

There are some partisan differences, but a majority of Republicans do not support the use of economic coercion or the military in getting control over Greenland.

Canada as 51st state President Trump has been talking about making Canada the 51st state of the United States, often stating that “everyone wants this.” Although it is unlikely that many Canadians desire this, it is clear that not many North Carolinians want another northern state with just 29 percent of our respondents supporting this idea, with 58 percent being opposed. Even among Republican voters, only 40.2 percent think this is a good idea.

For a point of comparison, we asked our sample if they supported making Puerto Rico our 51st state, something that Donald Trump has not supported. Support for this idea was far stronger with a plurality (48%) supporting the idea with 35 percent opposed. Although a majority of Democratic and unaffiliated voters supported the idea of Puerto Rico as the 51st state, a higher percentage of Republican voters supported this idea –42.8%– than supported the idea of Canada as the 51st state.

Drilling on federal lands During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump made energy exploration and production within the U.S. a key issue and he has pursued that aggressively, through executive orders, in the first weeks of his second term in office. The policy of opening up federal lands to exploration and drilling is popular with 48 percent of our respondents supporting the idea with 35 percent being opposed.

There are major partisan differences about drilling on federal lands. Just over one-quarter of Democratic respondents support this idea, while over three-quarters (77.1%) of Republican respondents favor this approach. Of the other demographic groups, the youngest group of voters (18-28 years of age) oppose this policy more than all other older groups.

Replacing civil servants with political appointees “The rhetoric about the deep state has clearly affected conservative audiences,” said David McLennan. “Donald Trump’s continued drumbeat about civil servants being liberal and working against his agenda has caused conservative North Carolinians to support the idea that more political appointees would be better to advancing Trump’s policy agenda.”

Eliminating the Department of Education President Trump signed an executive order about “dismantling” the Department of Education, fulfilling a campaign promise. This effort is supported by just under 30 percent of North Carolinians, with 63 percent opposed to this action.

Among demographic groups, only those respondents over the age of 80 and people who self-identified as “very conservative” had a majority of their group supporting this decision. Among partisan groups, less than one-quarter of Democrats (16.4%) and unaffiliated voters (22.8%) want the Department of Education to close. Less than half of Republican respondents (47.1%) support this action.

Legalizing medical marijuana in NC Although a law legalizing medical marijuana has not passed the North Carolina General Assembly, despite repeated efforts in recent sessions, it is likely to emerge again in 2025. It was recently called the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act and would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for a number of physical and mental conditions. Public support for such a bill has historically been strong. A large majority of North Carolinians (71%) support the passage of this type of bill with only 17 percent of our respondents being opposed. A majority of every demographic group in the state, even those that self-identify as the most conservative residents, support such legislation.

Legalizing casino gambling in NC A majority of North Carolinians (58%) support legalizing casino gambling on non-Native lands in North Carolina. Just under one-third of the respondents (32%) were opposed. Support was relatively consistent across most demographic groups with some notable exceptions. Less than half of the youngest and oldest voters supported extending casino gambling to non-native lands.

Full federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe With President Trump offering his support for recognition, there may be additional pressure for the recognition to finally happen. Public support is very strong for the Lumbee to be recognized with two-thirds of North Carolinians supporting such an effort with only ten percent opposed. Almost one-quarter of North Carolinas did not have an opinion, perhaps indicating their lack of knowledge about the recognition process or about the long history of Lumbee in North Carolina. Support was strong across all demographic groups.

Approval of President Trump Donald Trump returns to the White House with his strongest approval ratings since early 2017, according to the Meredith Poll. Trump is only slightly below water–47% approve; 49% disapprove– after the first few weeks of his second administration. However, the fact that these numbers are so close is significant because his approval numbers since 2018, including during the presidential campaign, were in the mid-40s.

Despite how close Trump’s approval/disapproval numbers are, there are large gaps in how demographic groups feel about Trump’s work as president. The partisan differences are stark with over three-quarters of Democrats (75.2%) disapproving of Trump, while over nine-in-ten (91.1%) of Republicans approve of his performance. A slight majority of unaffiliated voters disapprove of Trump’s work as president. A majority of white voters –57.6%– approve of Trump as president, while large majorities of minority voters – Black voters (70.2%) and Hispanic voters (66.7%) – disapprove of Trump’s work in the White House. The gender gap continues to plague Trump’s approval ratings with a slight majority of women (50.2%) disapproving of Trump as president, while a slight majority of men approving of his performance early in his second term.

Most of the support comes from two groups–the oldest North Carolinians (those over 80) and those who self-identify as somewhat or very conservative.

Governor Josh Stein Governor Josh Stein began his tenure as governor just over a month ago and has strong approval ratings–58% approve and 19% disapprove. Just over one-in-five respondents (22%) had no opinion of Stein’s work as governor.

Among demographic groups, Stein has strong support, even among Republican voters (53.8% approve), as well as minority voters and in rural, suburban, and urban parts of the state.

Personal financial situation Almost three-quarters of North Carolinians consider their current financial situation to be fair or poor (71%) with only 28 percent considering their financial situation to be excellent or good. Most North Carolinians, however, are optimistic about their financial situations one year from now with almost two-thirds responding that their finances will improve “a lot” or “some” and only nineteen percent thinking their situation will get worse.

Methodology
The Meredith Poll surveyed North Carolina likely voters. The online sample – from Qualtrics – used a quota based on the U.S. Census estimates of the population of North Carolina and current data registered voters in North Carolina. After the survey was completed, we weighted the survey for gender, party affiliation, geographic location, race and ethnicity, and education so that our sample most closely resembles North Carolina. The sample had 703 respondents, giving a confidence interval of +/- 3.75%. The survey was in the field February 3-10, 2025.