Democrat Hillary Clinton leads North Carolina by 4 points, while Republican Donald Trump is ahead by 1 in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll of likely voters.
Libertarian Gary Johnson could play a pivotal role in both battleground states. He polled 9 percent in both states and has a large percentage of young voters, who usually go for Democrats.
Here are the numbers:
North Carolina:
- Clinton: 45 percent
- Trump: 41 percent
Ohio:
- Trump: 42 percent
- Clinton: 41 percent
Both states are vital to Trump, who is trailing in Electoral College projections if the election were held today.
The poll was conducted Monday-Wednesday, starting after the second debate Sunday and after an audio recording from 2005 was released Friday in which Trump is heard talking about women in crude sexual terms.
The poll showed incumbent North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr Democrat Deborah Ross tied at 46 percent, and incumbent Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman with a 55 percent to 37 percent lead over Democrat Ted Strickland.
The poll surveyed 724 likely voters in Ohio and 743 likely voters in North Carolina. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.