North Carolina supreme court polling:
Trey Allen (R) 49.4% (+7)
Sam J. Ervin-Inc. (D) 42%Richard Dietz (R) 48.8% (+6)
Lucy Inman (D) 42.4%
Minnesota state auditor polling:
The latest polling from MinnPost shows incumbent DFL auditor Julie Blaha, a former teacher seeking her second term, and Republican challenger Ryan Wilson, who founded a company that audits clinical trials for medical device companies, are tied at 40%.
Nevada secretary of state polling:
Jim Marchant, the election-denying Republican nominee for secretary of state in Nevada, has so far been outspent and out campaigned by his Democratic opponent. But as the first counties in the state begin to mail out ballots to voters, he has consistently polled ahead of Democrat Cisco Aguilar.
These are, for the most part, not verdicts on the strengths of these particular candidates and their platforms and qualifications for these particular offices. Not a lot of Minnesotans just woke up and decided that it was time for a change of parties in the state auditor’s office. As Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times complains in a story on the Nevada race, Marchant’s lead in the polls is “a reality some political experts in the state say reflects the race’s low visibility and broader political trends, which show Republicans with an edge in Nevada.” Corasaniti opens with an anecdote intended to be poignant for the Democratic candidate:
Ted Pappageorge, the head of Culinary Union Local 226, whipped up the crowd of canvassers into a frenzy on a recent Monday morning, earning him “sí, se puede!” chants. But before he sent the canvassers out to knock on doors for Cisco Aguilar, the Democratic candidate of secretary of state, he had a question. “Does anybody know what the secretary of state does in the State of Nevada?” Mr. Pappageorge asked. A few murmured “voting” and a half dozen raised their hands.
When you see totally unconnected races in disparate parts of the country all reacting in the same way, that’s a wave.