President Obama has made it clear he’d like to keep North Carolina blue in 2012 — even going to the extent of hosting the Democratic convention in Charlotte next year.

So this is sure to be unpleasant news for him: a new Civitas Institute poll shows that if Rick Perry was the GOP nominee, he’d beat Obama in North Carolina, 45 percent to 42 percent.

Civitas did not poll other possible GOP nominees against Obama.