An Update from the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service
Nearly six months into his second term, more North Carolinians disapprove of President Donald Trump than approve, according to a new Catawba College-YouGov poll.
Half (50 percent) of the 1,000 respondents in North Carolina said they disapproved, with 43 percent strongly disapproving and another eight somewhat disapproving. Among the 46 percent who said they approved of the president, 30 percent said they strongly approved with 16 percent expressing somewhat approval.
“As is the norm, partisan differences are clearly evident among North Carolinians: 89 percent of self-identified Democrats disapproved while 92 percent of self-identified Republicans approve of the president,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service. “Independents are more disapproving of the president, at 59 percent, than approving, at 36 percent.”
“Overall, while the approval/disapproval is within poll’s margin of error, North Carolinians’ opinions appear to have turned on the president. Three months ago, the March Catawba-YouGov poll found Trump at 48 percent approval to 47 percent disapproval. With his approval appearing to tick down and disapproval ticking up, the president’s first six months have impacted his standing in North Carolina.”
The poll, paid for by Catawba College’s Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service and conducted by YouGov from June 10-26, 2025, has a margin of error of +/- 3.56 percent for the 1,000 weighted respondents who are 18 and older and live in North Carolina, with larger margins of error among sub-groups. All results should be interpreted as informative and not determinative.
Other key highlights of North Carolinians’ opinions on the president were:
- A clear gender gap is evident, with 54 percent of men approving of Trump, compared to 57 percent of women disapproving.
- White North Carolinians gave the president 57 percent approval, while three-quarters of Black respondents disapproved. Hispanic and all other races combined gave the president only 36 percent approval to 61 percent disapproval.
- Those who indicated they voted for President Trump in 2024 give him a 92 percent approval, while those who voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris give the current president a 94 percent disapproval.
- Not surprisingly, 87 percent of those who identified as liberal disapproved of Trump, with 58 percent of moderates also disapproving. Conservatives, however, gave Trump 86 percent approval.
- Those with a college education were more disapproving of the president (58 percent to 40 percent approval), while those with some college education were slightly more approving (51 percent to 46 percent disapproval).
- Those who are of the Boomer or Silent generations gave the president a slight approval advantage (50 percent to 48 disapproval), but Generation X and Millennials/Generation Z were more disapproving (50 percent for Gen X and 52 percent for Millennials/Gen Z).
- Trump garners his highest disapproval among the state’s urban cities, with 65 percent of central city respondents, while in suburban and rural counties, Trump garners 58 and 53 percent approval, respectively. In the areas outside of the central cities in urban counties (the ‘urban suburbs’), 52 percent disapproved to 45 percent approved of the president.
STEIN, TILLIS, AND COOPER APPROVALS, ALONG WITH FEMA FUNDING AND NC STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TRANSFER
The poll also asked North Carolinians about their approval or disapproval of other state officials and two policy actions within the state.
Prior to his June 30th announcement to not seek re-election in 2026, the survey asked North Carolinians about the state’s senior U.S. Senator, Republican Thom Tillis. Overall, Tillis had approval from one-third of North Carolinians, with 44 percent expressing disapproval and 22 percent saying they didn’t know.
In March 2025’s Catawba-YouGov poll, Tillis had a 41 percent approval to 37 percent disapproval, with another 22 percent saying they didn’t know three months ago.
Other findings regarding Tillis:
- Only 60 percent of Republicans approve (somewhat/strongly) of Tillis.
- Among Democrats, 63 percent expressed disapproval of the senior senator, with 52 percent of Independents also expressing disapproval.
- Pluralities of both men and women expressed disapproval (45 and 44 percent, respectively).
- Among those who voted for Donald Trump in 2024, 58 percent approve of Tillis, compared to 28 percent who disapprove.
- Only 54 percent of those who identified as conservative approve of Tillis, while a plurality of moderates (43 percent) expressed disapproval. Seven out of ten liberals disapprove of Tillis.
Governor Josh Stein continues a honeymoon period with the public, with 53 percent approval to 26 percent disapproval. Majorities of Democrats and Independents approve of the governor, while Republicans are more evenly split (39 percent approve to 40 percent disapprove).
Stein garners majority approval ratings across the demographic board, with plurality approval among those who hold less than a college degree and those in suburban and rural counties. Conservatives gave a plurality of disapproval to the governor, as did those who voted for Donald Trump in 2024.
The survey also asked North Carolinians about former Democratic governor Roy Cooper, who is considering running for the Democratic nomination for the now open-seat U.S. Senate election. Six months after leaving office, Cooper has a 52 percent approval to 33 percent disapproval.
Other findings about the former governor:
- Democrats gave the former governor 78 percent approval and Independents 57 percent approval. Republicans, however, gave him 58 percent disapproval.
- A plurality of White respondents (48 percent) approve of Cooper, to 39 percent disapprove. Two-thirds of Black respondents gave their approval, to 14 percent disapproval.
- Moderates gave 59 percent approval to Cooper, with liberals at 78 percent approval. Six out of ten conservatives expressed disapproval of the former two-term governor.
- Not surprising, Cooper garners his highest approval in the urban cities, with two-thirds expressing approval. Among rural county respondents, 44 percent approve of Cooper to 40 percent disapproval, with similar dynamics in suburban counties (45 percent approval to 41 percent disapproval). In the suburbs of urban counties, 51 percent approve to 37 percent disapprove.
- Cooper received nearly 30 percent approval from those who voted for Donald Trump in 2024.
The Catawba-YouGov Poll also asked North Carolinians about their feelings regarding two recent events in the state: FEMA’s decision to not fund 100 percent of recovery efforts in western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene, and the transfer of administrative oversight and appointment of the N.C. State Board of Elections from the governor to the state auditor.
Overall, less than three-out-of-ten North Carolinians approve of the federal government’s decision not to fully fund recovery efforts for Helene-impact areas, while 57 percent disapprove. Across the political aisle, significant majorities disapprove of the decision: 60 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents, and 57 percent of Republicans disapprove. One third of conservatives do approve of reducing the funding from 100 percent to 90 percent, but 54 percent of moderates and 68 percent of liberals disapprove of the decision.
When asked about a court ruling allowing the transfer of the N.C. State Board of Elections from the oversight of the governor to the state auditor, 36 percent approve of the decision, while 42 percent disapprove, with 22 percent didn’t know.
However, when a follow-up question was asked that included the partisan identification of the governor (Democratic) and the state auditor (Republican), North Carolinians’ opinions flipped regarding the court ruling on the NCSBE transfer: 43 percent approved to 38 percent disapprove, with 19 percent indicating don’t know. Among Republicans, nearly a quarter shifted their opinion from initially ‘disapprove’ to ‘approve,’ while 18 percent of Democrats shifted from disapprove to approve. Among Independents, only 11 percent shifted from disapproving of the court ruling to approving of the transfer.
Future releases will focus on confidence in President Trump’s handling of various policy questions, along with North Carolinians’ opinions on the importance of key characteristics of America’s form of government.
