North Carolina: Romney 49% Obama 44%

A new Rasmussen Reports poll of North Carolina shows Mitt Romney maintaining a small but consistent advantage, 49%-44%.

Key stats:

a. Obama's job approval is 47%/51%, which is a bit higher than you'd expect, considering he only picks up 44% of the vote.

b. Romney's favorable rating is 50%/47%. That's good enough to win, but not by much.

c. The gender gap favors Romney. Men prefer him by 15%, while women prefer Obama by only 5%.

d. The really remarkable stat is that Mitt leads the president, 59%-29%, among unaffiliated voters. That seems awfully high.

I don't think Rasmussen polled it, but I'd love to see a North Carolina poll, pitting this classic Tarheel shot...



... against this Blue Devil heave.