Some very encouraging news out of the Tar Heel State courtesy of PPP:

For the first time in our polling of North Carolina's US Senate race we don't find Richard Burr in the lead. He and Deborah Ross are tied at 41% each, with Libertarian Sean Haugh getting 4%. Despite 12 years of service in the Senate, voters are pretty evenly divided three ways when it comes to their feelings about Burr- 34% approve of him, 34% disapprove, and 32% have no opinion about him one way or another. Ross continues to be relatively unknown with 49% of voters having no opinion about her- 27% see her favorably and 25% unfavorably among those who do have an opinion.

The tightness of the Senate race reflects the overall competitiveness of the state. Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot by 2 points at 44/42. Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest has a 3 point lead for reelection over Democratic challenger Linda Coleman, 38/35. Democratic Attorney General candidate Josh Stein leads Republican Buck Newton 39-35. And in the contest for State Treasurer, Democrat Dan Blue III's at 38% to 37% for Republican challenger Dale Folwell. Everything's within the margin of error, and up and down the ballot North Carolina's about as evenly divided as it could possibly be.