NC Voters Talk Importance Of Gun Regulation

CHARLOTTE, NC — Gun violence continues to be a major issue in our city and country. Yet, a poll from Bloomberg shows it’s not at the top of the list like it was in past elections.

“It doesn’t seem to be playing an outsized role in this year’s national elections or local level elections,” said University of Kansas political science professor Don Haider-Markel.

Haider-Markel’s research focuses on groups interests in politics and policy.

“It could make the difference in states like Georgia and North Carolina, where it’s very likely that, a few tens of thousands of votes are going to decide the election,”

According to the research group, RAND, North Carolina had 222,166 registered gun owners in 2021. That means nearly 46% of North Carolinians have guns in their homes.

“Gun owners are so less unlikely to vote for a democratic candidate. It’s hard to see at least those folks really switching sides,” explained Haider-Markel.

A Bloomberg swing state poll asked 706 North Carolinians how important the gun issue is to them. 79% responded very or somewhat important. However, when asked what the single most important issue is that will decide their vote only 3% said guns. The economy, immigration, democracy, abortion, healthcare and senior services all had a higher percentage.