2026 forecast · North Carolina 3rd

Greg Murphy is very likely to win North Carolina's 3rd District.

Raymond Smith Jr. vs Greg Murphy. The model has Murphy ahead by 6.8 points, winning 86 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Likely RModel R +6.8Polls R +2.0Updated October 22, 2026
Raymond Smith Jr.
Democrat
45.7%
144,014 projected votes
Greg Murphy
Republican
52.5%
165,401 projected votes
86%Murphy
14%Jr.
Murphy very likelyEach square is one simulated election night, Murphy wins about 86 of 100
RatingLikely R86% chance for Murphy
Model marginR +6.8Polls R +2.0
80 percent rangeD +1.4 to R +14.92,000 simulations
Projected votes315,169Murphy 52.5%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

North Carolina districts

14 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Raymond Smith Jr.Democrat · 14% to win
45.7%
Greg MurphyRepublican · 86% to win
52.5%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

315,169 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Greg Murphy R165,40152.5%
Raymond Smith Jr. D144,01445.7%
Daniel Cavender L5,7541.8%
Total315,169100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%14% Jr.86% Murphy15 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

Polls of the race

PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageR +2.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Murphy +6.8
Chance of winning
Raymond Smith Jr.14%
Greg Murphy86%
Simulated vote
Raymond Smith Jr.45.7%
Greg Murphy52.5%
Daniel Cavender1.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +14.0
FundamentalsR +7.2
With pollsR +7.2
Early vote turnoutD +0.4
With early voteR +6.8

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in North Carolina, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +17R +17Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +14.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +7.2With pollsaverage R +2.0R +7.2With early voteturnout so farR +6.8
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.