Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #28047

Growing NC Majorities Want Both Medical and Recreational Marijuana Legalized; Most Not Betting on Sports, Though 1 in 3 Have at Least Once; No Consensus on How to Handle Data Centers in Tar Heel State, With Roughly Equal Numbers Supporting and Opposing Further Development Here: SurveyUSA's latest WRAL/WSOC Poll results began by asking registered voters about the use of marijuana in North Carolina. SurveyUSA has asked voters about the medical use of marijuana 4 times since 2022, and about recreational use twice, and in each case, has found majorities favor legalization. 74% today say the use of marijuana for medical use should be made legal in North Carolina; 15% say it should remain against the law. That's a 59-point margin for legalization, up from 51 points in the previous poll, conducted in October 2024, and from 54 points in both April 2022 and September 2024. Majorities in all parts of the state and among all demographic subgroups favor legalization of medical marijuana. A smaller majority, 63%, say the use of marijuana for recreational use should be made legal, with 26% saying it should remain against the law. When previously polled in April 2022, 57% supported legalization, 32% opposed – a 25-point margin for legalization then, vs. a 37-point margin for legalization today. Majorities in most demographic groups support legalization, as do pluralities of Whatley voters and somewhat conservative voters. Both seniors (42%-42%) and very conservative voters (44%-44%) are evenly divided on the question. Opposition to legalization does not exceed 44% and does not outweigh support for legalization among any demographic subgroup. On the topic of sports betting, legal in North Carolina since March of 2024, 63% of adults statewide say they have never placed a legal wager on sports since then. 5% say they have done so once, 13% between 2 and 4 times, and 14% say they have done so 5 or more times. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have placed multiple legal bets; those under age 50 are more than 3 times as likely as those over 50 (and nearly 6 times as likely as those over age 65) to have placed multiple bets; Black and Latino respondents are more than 1.5 times as likely to have placed multiple bets as are white respondents. On data centers, 43% say they support at least some development, and an essentially identical number, 42%, say they do not. Breaking that down: 6% say North Carolina should encourage more data-center development across the state. 37% say the state should allow development, but require data centers to pay the full cost of the energy, water and infrastructure they require. 13% say the state should support the moratoriums in place in several parts of the state, which temporarily pause new data-center development. 29% say North Carolina should oppose additional data-center development in the state. 16% say they don't know enough to say. Support for at least some development is at 56% among Whatley voters, 53% among Republicans, and 51% among conservatives; opposition is at 58% among both Cooper voters and Democrats, and at 54% among liberals. Fully crosstabbed results follow...

About the Research / Filtering: SurveyUSA interviewed 900 North Carolina adults 10/07/26 through 10/11/26. Of the adults, 778 were identified as being registered to vote and asked Q2-Q3 below, while the other questions were asked of all adults. This research was conducted online, using nonprobability sample of online adult panelists chosen randomly by Lucid Holdings LLC of New Orleans. The combined pool of survey respondents was weighted to US Census ACS targets for gender, age, race, education, and home ownership, and to North Carolina party affiliation data.

1	Are you registered to vote in the state of North Carolina?

900 Adults	All	Gender		Age				<50 / 50+		Race				Likely			Senate Vote		Parent		Party Affiliation			Ideology					Ideology Aggregated			2024 Vote		Voting Method			Own Gun		Helene Impacted?		Education			Income			Home		Urbanicity			Region
Credibility Interval: ± 2.9 pct points		Male	Female	18-34	35-49	50-64	65+	18-49	50+	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian /	Already	Certain	Probable	Whatley	Cooper	Yes	No	Republic	Democrat	Independ	Very Con	Smw. Con	Moderate	Smw. Lib	Very Lib	Conserva	Moderate	Liberal	Trump	Harris	Mail	Early In	Election	Yes	No	Yes	No	High Sch	Some Col	4-Year C	< $40K	$40K - $	> $80K	Own	Rent	Urban	Suburban	Rural	Western	Charlott	Greensbo	Raleigh	Southern
Yes	86%	88%	85%	81%	88%	88%	91%	84%	89%	85%	94%	85%	79%	**	100%	100%	100%	100%	87%	86%	90%	94%	83%	94%	91%	87%	94%	91%	92%	87%	92%	96%	96%	100%	100%	100%	87%	86%	83%	88%	74%	90%	96%	79%	91%	91%	90%	80%	91%	89%	81%	79%	84%	89%	91%	83%
No	12%	11%	13%	17%	11%	10%	9%	14%	9%	13%	6%	12%	19%	-	-	-	-	-	11%	12%	8%	6%	15%	6%	8%	11%	4%	9%	7%	11%	7%	4%	4%	-	-	-	12%	12%	15%	11%	22%	9%	4%	19%	7%	8%	9%	18%	8%	10%	16%	20%	13%	9%	8%	16%
Not Sure	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	3%	0%	2%	1%	2%	0%	3%	2%	-	-	-	-	-	1%	2%	2%	0%	2%	1%	0%	2%	2%	0%	1%	2%	1%	1%	1%	-	-	-	1%	2%	2%	1%	4%	1%	0%	2%	2%	1%	1%	3%	1%	1%	2%	1%	3%	2%	1%	1%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Composition of Adults	100%	48%	52%	29%	24%	25%	21%	53%	47%	64%	20%	8%	8%	5%	60%	18%	40%	54%	30%	68%	34%	33%	28%	14%	18%	36%	12%	12%	32%	36%	24%	39%	38%	12%	51%	36%	40%	56%	16%	82%	35%	33%	33%	38%	33%	28%	66%	34%	17%	45%	38%	8%	23%	23%	28%	18%

Should the use of marijuana for medical use remain against the law in North Carolina? Or be legalized?

778 Registered Voters	All	Gender		Age				<50 / 50+		Race				Likely			Senate Vote		Parent		Party Affiliation			Ideology					Ideology Aggregated			2024 Vote		Voting Method			Own Gun		Helene Impacted?		Education			Income			Home		Urbanicity			Region
Credibility Interval: ± 4 pct points		Male	Female	18-34	35-49	50-64	65+	18-49	50+	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian /	Already	Certain	Probable	Whatley	Cooper	Yes	No	Republic	Democrat	Independ	Very Con	Smw. Con	Moderate	Smw. Lib	Very Lib	Conserva	Moderate	Liberal	Trump	Harris	Mail	Early In	Election	Yes	No	Yes	No	High Sch	Some Col	4-Year C	< $40K	$40K - $	> $80K	Own	Rent	Urban	Suburban	Rural	Western	Charlott	Greensbo	Raleigh	Southern
Remain Against The Law	15%	15%	15%	11%	11%	17%	21%	11%	19%	17%	12%	14%	9%	**	16%	15%	23%	10%	11%	16%	22%	11%	10%	24%	19%	12%	10%	12%	21%	12%	11%	21%	10%	20%	16%	15%	19%	13%	22%	14%	20%	11%	15%	12%	12%	21%	18%	9%	8%	16%	16%	15%	19%	9%	14%	19%
Be Made Legal	74%	74%	74%	79%	80%	73%	61%	80%	68%	72%	73%	79%	87%	**	74%	75%	63%	84%	82%	71%	65%	83%	75%	58%	64%	79%	85%	83%	62%	79%	84%	66%	83%	62%	74%	77%	69%	79%	70%	75%	69%	74%	78%	72%	76%	73%	71%	80%	84%	73%	70%	73%	75%	77%	77%	64%
Not Sure	11%	11%	12%	10%	8%	10%	18%	9%	13%	11%	15%	6%	4%	**	10%	10%	14%	7%	8%	13%	13%	6%	15%	18%	17%	9%	5%	4%	17%	9%	4%	13%	7%	18%	10%	9%	12%	8%	8%	11%	11%	15%	8%	15%	12%	6%	11%	12%	8%	10%	14%	12%	5%	14%	9%	18%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Composition of Registered Voters	100%	49%	51%	27%	24%	26%	22%	52%	48%	63%	22%	8%	7%	5%	60%	18%	40%	54%	31%	68%	35%	35%	27%	15%	19%	37%	13%	13%	34%	37%	26%	43%	42%	12%	51%	36%	40%	56%	15%	83%	30%	34%	36%	35%	35%	30%	69%	31%	18%	46%	36%	7%	23%	23%	30%	17%

Should the use of marijuana for recreational use remain against the law in North Carolina? Or be legalized?

778 Registered Voters	All	Gender		Age				<50 / 50+		Race				Likely			Senate Vote		Parent		Party Affiliation			Ideology					Ideology Aggregated			2024 Vote		Voting Method			Own Gun		Helene Impacted?		Education			Income			Home		Urbanicity			Region
Credibility Interval: ± 4.4 pct points		Male	Female	18-34	35-49	50-64	65+	18-49	50+	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian /	Already	Certain	Probable	Whatley	Cooper	Yes	No	Republic	Democrat	Independ	Very Con	Smw. Con	Moderate	Smw. Lib	Very Lib	Conserva	Moderate	Liberal	Trump	Harris	Mail	Early In	Election	Yes	No	Yes	No	High Sch	Some Col	4-Year C	< $40K	$40K - $	> $80K	Own	Rent	Urban	Suburban	Rural	Western	Charlott	Greensbo	Raleigh	Southern
Remain Against The Law	26%	24%	27%	18%	19%	26%	42%	19%	33%	29%	21%	23%	16%	**	29%	24%	40%	18%	21%	29%	40%	18%	18%	44%	38%	22%	13%	13%	41%	22%	13%	37%	18%	29%	31%	22%	31%	22%	33%	25%	29%	23%	25%	22%	23%	34%	30%	17%	16%	25%	32%	34%	29%	20%	22%	32%
Be Made Legal	63%	64%	62%	70%	74%	64%	42%	72%	54%	59%	68%	69%	78%	**	61%	63%	49%	73%	75%	58%	52%	73%	65%	44%	49%	69%	78%	76%	47%	69%	77%	53%	73%	53%	59%	67%	60%	67%	60%	64%	58%	66%	65%	64%	65%	59%	59%	73%	77%	64%	55%	56%	65%	65%	66%	57%
Not Sure	11%	12%	11%	11%	7%	11%	16%	9%	13%	12%	11%	8%	6%	**	11%	13%	11%	10%	5%	14%	8%	9%	17%	12%	13%	9%	8%	11%	13%	9%	10%	10%	9%	18%	9%	11%	9%	11%	7%	11%	13%	11%	10%	14%	12%	7%	12%	10%	7%	11%	13%	10%	6%	15%	12%	11%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Composition of Registered Voters	100%	49%	51%	27%	24%	26%	22%	52%	48%	63%	22%	8%	7%	5%	60%	18%	40%	54%	31%	68%	35%	35%	27%	15%	19%	37%	13%	13%	34%	37%	26%	43%	42%	12%	51%	36%	40%	56%	15%	83%	30%	34%	36%	35%	35%	30%	69%	31%	18%	46%	36%	7%	23%	23%	30%	17%

In March 2024, sports betting became legal in North Carolina. How often have you legally bet on sports since then?

900 Adults	All	Gender		Age				<50 / 50+		Race				Likely			Senate Vote		Parent		Party Affiliation			Ideology					Ideology Aggregated			2024 Vote		Voting Method			Own Gun		Helene Impacted?		Education			Income			Home		Urbanicity			Region
Credibility Interval: ± 4 pct points		Male	Female	18-34	35-49	50-64	65+	18-49	50+	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian /	Already	Certain	Probable	Whatley	Cooper	Yes	No	Republic	Democrat	Independ	Very Con	Smw. Con	Moderate	Smw. Lib	Very Lib	Conserva	Moderate	Liberal	Trump	Harris	Mail	Early In	Election	Yes	No	Yes	No	High Sch	Some Col	4-Year C	< $40K	$40K - $	> $80K	Own	Rent	Urban	Suburban	Rural	Western	Charlott	Greensbo	Raleigh	Southern
Not At All	63%	54%	72%	44%	46%	80%	88%	45%	84%	68%	53%	47%	69%	**	66%	57%	65%	61%	48%	70%	66%	56%	68%	67%	66%	61%	63%	63%	66%	61%	63%	62%	61%	64%	64%	60%	59%	67%	63%	63%	65%	68%	57%	71%	63%	54%	66%	58%	46%	61%	73%	75%	57%	63%	63%	67%
Once	5%	5%	5%	9%	5%	3%	2%	7%	3%	5%	7%	6%	2%	**	5%	7%	4%	6%	7%	4%	4%	8%	4%	5%	4%	7%	3%	6%	4%	7%	4%	5%	6%	6%	6%	4%	6%	5%	7%	5%	8%	4%	4%	5%	6%	5%	4%	7%	8%	5%	4%	3%	5%	8%	3%	5%
2-4 Times	13%	17%	9%	18%	20%	9%	2%	19%	6%	10%	13%	31%	18%	**	10%	15%	13%	11%	16%	12%	13%	12%	12%	13%	12%	14%	10%	13%	12%	14%	12%	16%	11%	15%	12%	14%	13%	14%	12%	13%	13%	9%	16%	9%	15%	15%	11%	16%	19%	14%	9%	4%	18%	12%	13%	10%
5 Or More Times	14%	21%	8%	22%	21%	6%	5%	22%	6%	13%	23%	7%	10%	**	17%	18%	15%	20%	26%	9%	13%	19%	11%	13%	17%	13%	21%	16%	15%	13%	19%	15%	19%	12%	17%	21%	20%	11%	16%	14%	10%	14%	20%	9%	14%	22%	15%	13%	22%	15%	10%	17%	13%	13%	15%	14%
Not Sure	4%	3%	5%	6%	7%	2%	2%	6%	2%	4%	3%	9%	1%	**	2%	4%	2%	2%	4%	4%	3%	4%	5%	2%	2%	5%	3%	3%	2%	5%	3%	2%	3%	3%	2%	1%	3%	4%	1%	5%	5%	5%	3%	6%	2%	5%	3%	6%	5%	4%	4%	1%	6%	4%	5%	4%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Composition of Adults	100%	48%	52%	29%	24%	25%	21%	53%	47%	64%	20%	8%	8%	5%	60%	18%	40%	54%	30%	68%	34%	33%	28%	14%	18%	36%	12%	12%	32%	36%	24%	39%	38%	12%	51%	36%	40%	56%	16%	82%	35%	33%	33%	38%	33%	28%	66%	34%	17%	45%	38%	8%	23%	23%	28%	18%

5

Data centers can bring investment and tax revenue to North Carolina, but they can also require large amounts of electricity and water. Which approach do you think North Carolina should take? Encourage more data-center development across the state? Allow development, but require data centers to pay the full cost of the energy, water and infrastructure they require? Support the moratoriums in place in several parts of the state, which temporarily pause new data-center development? Or oppose additional data-center development in North Carolina?

900 Adults	All	Gender		Age				<50 / 50+		Race				Likely			Senate Vote		Parent		Party Affiliation			Ideology					Ideology Aggregated			2024 Vote		Voting Method			Own Gun		Helene Impacted?		Education			Income			Home		Urbanicity			Region
Credibility Interval: ± 4.2 pct points		Male	Female	18-34	35-49	50-64	65+	18-49	50+	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian /	Already	Certain	Probable	Whatley	Cooper	Yes	No	Republic	Democrat	Independ	Very Con	Smw. Con	Moderate	Smw. Lib	Very Lib	Conserva	Moderate	Liberal	Trump	Harris	Mail	Early In	Election	Yes	No	Yes	No	High Sch	Some Col	4-Year C	< $40K	$40K - $	> $80K	Own	Rent	Urban	Suburban	Rural	Western	Charlott	Greensbo	Raleigh	Southern
Encourage More Data-center Development	6%	7%	4%	7%	6%	7%	1%	7%	4%	6%	7%	4%	2%	**	4%	7%	8%	4%	8%	5%	8%	5%	4%	7%	8%	4%	5%	6%	8%	4%	6%	8%	3%	12%	6%	4%	6%	5%	5%	6%	5%	5%	7%	5%	4%	9%	5%	6%	5%	8%	4%	6%	8%	4%	7%	3%
Allow, But Require Data Centers To Pay Full Costs	37%	41%	32%	36%	34%	38%	40%	35%	39%	38%	34%	31%	43%	**	36%	46%	48%	33%	33%	38%	45%	28%	37%	40%	44%	37%	35%	28%	43%	37%	32%	44%	33%	34%	40%	41%	44%	32%	29%	38%	30%	39%	41%	29%	37%	47%	39%	32%	39%	38%	34%	38%	36%	33%	38%	40%
Support Moratoriums	13%	13%	13%	16%	15%	10%	10%	15%	10%	12%	15%	16%	9%	**	14%	12%	12%	15%	13%	13%	11%	18%	10%	16%	10%	12%	22%	11%	12%	12%	17%	10%	16%	9%	14%	14%	13%	12%	19%	12%	11%	13%	15%	12%	15%	12%	12%	14%	17%	11%	13%	12%	13%	10%	13%	16%
Oppose Additional Data-center Development	29%	25%	33%	26%	29%	30%	33%	27%	31%	31%	26%	33%	21%	**	37%	23%	22%	43%	36%	26%	21%	40%	31%	23%	26%	32%	30%	44%	25%	32%	37%	23%	39%	32%	34%	31%	25%	33%	34%	29%	28%	29%	30%	28%	33%	26%	31%	25%	28%	26%	34%	25%	30%	36%	26%	26%
Don't Know Enough To Say	16%	13%	18%	15%	16%	15%	15%	16%	15%	14%	19%	16%	24%	**	8%	11%	11%	6%	10%	18%	15%	10%	18%	13%	11%	14%	7%	11%	12%	14%	9%	14%	8%	14%	7%	10%	12%	18%	12%	15%	25%	14%	7%	27%	11%	6%	12%	23%	11%	18%	15%	20%	13%	17%	16%	16%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Composition of Adults	100%	48%	52%	29%	24%	25%	21%	53%	47%	64%	20%	8%	8%	5%	60%	18%	40%	54%	30%	68%	34%	33%	28%	14%	18%	36%	12%	12%	32%	36%	24%	39%	38%	12%	51%	36%	40%	56%	16%	82%	35%	33%	33%	38%	33%	28%	66%	34%	17%	45%	38%	8%	23%	23%	28%	18%

** Too few respondents of this type were interviewed for this data to be meaningful.