Former Gov. Pat McCrory leads the latest public polling on the Republican gubernatorial primary, despite him not being in the race.

The Charlotte Republican, who's become a morning radio host in Charlotte since leaving the governor's mansion, could still get in the 2020 contest, though. The filing deadline isn't until next Friday, Dec. 20.

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McCrory hasn't said he will, and he hasn't said he won't. He didn't return WRAL News inquiries on the topic this week.

But his potential led Civitas, a right-leaning think tank and polling outlet, to include McCrory in an early December telephone poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters. McCrory came in first with 42 percent.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who's been targeting the 2020 governor's race for years and was a guest on McCrory's radio show last month, got 31 percent. State Rep. Holly Grange, R-New Hanover, who got into the race earlier this year, polled at 3 percent. Twenty-five percent of the people reached said they were undecided.

McCrory, Civitas President and Chief Executive Donald Bryson said, "is a plausible candidate with high name ID."

"That’s why we decided to include him," he said.

Patrick Sebastian, a McCrory adviser as well as the former governor's nephew, said there's precedent for McCrory making a late decision.

"In 2008, he announced at the last possible minute," Sebastian said Thursday.

Civitas polled other issues as well:

  • 30 percent of respondents said jobs and the economy will be their top issue this election cycle, followed by immigration at 19 percent
    • 63 percent said that, if the state's U.S. Senate primaries were held today, they'd vote for Sen. Thom Tillis.
      • 53 percent said Republicans are more united heading into this election than usual, compared with 18 percent who said the party is more divided
        • 91 percent said the national economy has improved over the last three years.
          • 61 percent said they favor a state constitutional amendment capping state spending growth by tying it to inflation
            • 58 percent said they favor nonpartisan redistricting reforms that would have General Assembly staff draw legislative and congressional maps instead of allowing lawmakers to do so.

              The poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters included land lines and cellphones. Ninety-three percent of the people polled were white.

              The poll questions and crosstabs are available online.

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              WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie contributed to this report.