Poll: Trump, Clinton in close race in North Carolina

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a narrow lead over her GOP rival Donald Trump in North Carolina, according to a new Civitas poll of likely voters.

{mosads}Clinton is favored by 44 percent of likely voters, and Trump is backed by 42 percent.

Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson has the support of 5 percent of likely voters and another 6 percent are undecided.

The poll also found 40 percent of voters say they are more interested in voting against a presidential candidate than voting for one. That number increased 10 points from a poll conducted in mid-September.

Thirteen percent of voters said news reports over the past few days about the Republican nominee have made them less likely to vote for Trump. Still, 79 percent said the recent news reports had no impact on their votes.

In the recent weeks, multiple women have come forward to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct — allegations Trump and his campaign have strongly and repeatedly denied.

In the Senate race, incumbent GOP Sen. Richard Burr has a 7-point lead over Democrat Deborah Ross, 44 to 37 percent.

In the race for governor, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has a 4-point lead over Democratic challenger Roy Cooper, 46 to 42 percent.

The poll was conducted from Oct. 14 to 17 among 600 likely voters. The margin of error is 4 percent.

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls in North Carolina, Clinton has a 2.5-point lead over Trump, 45.8 to 43.3 percent.