The economic downturn has hit few places as hard as rural North Carolina, where unemployment is above 10%. With the spotlight on the economy, maybe it's not surprising that a new poll conducted for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has their candidate leading incumbent Republican Robin Hayes by a big margin.

The poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, surveyed 400 likely voters between 9/28-29 for a margin of error of +/- 4.9%. Hayes and 2006 candidate Larry Kissell were tested.

General Election Matchup
Kissell........54
Hayes..........43

In 2006, Hayes won by just over 300 votes. This year, the DCCC has run ads on Kissell's behalf tying Hayes to President Bush and unpopular trade deals like CAFTA.