An Update from the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service
Overall, four out of ten respondents say Washington Republicans combined are responsible: 23 percent blame the Republican Party in Congress and another 18 percent fault the President. While 29 percent blame the Democratic Party, one in four North Carolinians say both parties share blame for the nearly month-long federal government shutdown.
“With this latest shutdown close to becoming the longest in American history, the division among North Carolina partisans reflects the nation’s divided state,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service at Catawba College, which wrote and paid for the online survey administered by YouGov.
“Over two-thirds of self-identified North Carolina Democrats blame Washington Republicans, while 56 percent of North Carolina Republicans blame the Democratic Party,” Bitzer noted. “Among North Carolina independents, 35 percent blame Republicans, 26 percent hold Democrats responsible, and a third—34 percent—say it is both parties’ fault.”
With 1,000 respondents, the survey’s overall margin of error (adjusted for weights) is plus/minus 3.79 percent, with subgroups having a higher margin of error. Survey results should be viewed as informative and not determinative.
Rising Economic Anxiety Among North Carolinians
The survey also finds widespread pessimism about the economy. Nearly three in four North Carolinians (73 percent) expect the prices “of things you buy” to rise into the mid-term election year. Only 14 percent believe prices will decrease, while 13 percent expect them to stay the same.
A majority of self-identified North Carolina Republicans, along with 86 percent of Democrats and three-quarters (76 percent) of Independents, predict higher prices going into 2026.
“Since June’s survey, nine of the ten barometers of economic concerns have risen among North Carolinians,” Bitzer said. “For example, June’s Catawba-YouGov Survey found that 69 percent of North Carolinians were concerned about their own economic well-being. Now, three-quarters of North Carolinians are concerned about their own economic well-being.”
Economic concerns are especially high for:
- Food and consumer goods: 87 percent
- The nation’s overall economy: 84 percent
- Housing prices: 81 percent
- North Carolina’s economy: 77 percent
- Their own/own family economic situation: 76 percent
- Gasoline & energy: 76 percent
The two largest increases in concern are about respondents’ local economy (from 63 percent in June to 73 percent now) and how the stock market is doing (from 42 percent to 52 percent).
More than seven out of ten North Carolinians are concerned about the job market, with 77 percent concerned about the ability of people who want to work to find jobs, and 72 percent worried about the overall unemployment rate.
With tariffs still in the news, 73 percent of survey respondents expressed concern about taxing imported goods into the country: 94 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents, and 54 percent of Republicans have concern about the overall impact of tariffs.
More Findings from October’s Catawba-YouGov Survey to come
This is the first of several releases from October’s Catawba-YouGov survey of 1,000 North Carolinians. Later this week, findings regarding North Carolina’s approval and disapproval of major government officials, along with the federal government’s response a year since Hurricane Helene hit the state and the military’s presence in urban areas, will be released. Additional releases will focus on North Carolinians’ perceptions of political polarization, when political violence is justified, and environmental and public health concerns.
For information regarding North Carolinians’ concerns about the economy from June, visit: catawba.edu/news/all-news/2025/yougov-8.
