FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2025
Livable Raleigh’s new poll of registered voters, conducted by Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling, points strongly to these key issues in the upcoming 2026 City Council elections:
1. AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By a 4-to-1 margin, respondents said Raleigh is not doing enough to provide affordable housing for residents at every income level. (70% of voters answered “No” to this question; only 14% said “Yes,” with the rest “Not Sure.”)
The poll also indicated voter dissatisfaction with City Council’s stance on affordable housing as part of a rezoning case.
Again, by a 4-to-1 margin (71% Yes; 18% No), respondents said developers should include affordable housing units in their rezoning applications for residential projects. City Council customarily approves their applications with zero affordable units included.
2. CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
Another clear and discouraging result of the poll, just 18% of voters think the City Council is “doing enough to keep citizens involved and informed” about Raleigh government. Another 27% said they weren’t sure. A majority of 55% answered this question in the negative – a total of 82% who don’t feel involved and well-informed by Council.
3. CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
Campaign contributions, another question we asked about, may bear on most voters’ sense that they’re sidelined by Council.
By a 6-to-1 margin, voters said Council elections are too heavily influenced by large contributions (donors are allowed contribute up to $6,800 to one or multiple candidates) – 67% said Yes; just 11% said No.
On a follow-up question, 64% said they would support limiting contributions to $1,000 or less; 12% opposed this idea.
Council would have to petition the state legislature for authority to set a lower contributions limit. This has been done in other NC jurisdictions. The Raleigh Council has never sought such authority.
4. GROWTH, TRAFFIC, AND TRANSIT
We asked several questions about Raleigh’s rapid growth and impacts on residents.
The clearest result was on a question about Raleigh’s transportation infrastructure, specifically whether our “roads and bus transit services” are adequate to support our growth, or not?
Adequate: 15%
Inadequate 73%
The rest were unsure.
On a follow-up question, 37% rated traffic congestion a “very serious” problem, 48% said it is a “somewhat serious” problem; just 13% view it as not that serious.
5. GROWTH, TREES, AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Voters’ views on these topics were mixed. A slight plurality think Raleigh is doing enough to conserve trees and open natural spaces. About one in three (37%) think Raleigh’s growth is impacting them negatively; just one in four (28%) think the impact on their lives is positive. Others answered that growth is not making much of a difference to their quality of life.
6. COUNCIL INCUMBENTS
We also sampled opinions about the two Council members expected to run for re-election in citywide races. (Note: The third at-large incumbent, Jonathan Melton-Lambert, said he’s running for a county office.)
Mayor Janet Cowell, after her first year in office, has a net +19% approval rating (38% approval, 19% disapproval); nearly half were unsure or offered no opinion.
At-Large Councilor Stormie Forte seems to have made little impression on voters in her 5-plus years on Council. Her approval/disapproval was a net zero (16%/16%). More than two-thirds (68%) were unsure.
Again, only 18% of respondents answered “Yes” when asked if Council is keeping them involved and informed about Raleigh government.
ABOUT LIVABLE RALEIGH
Livable Raleigh is a non-profit public interest organization dedicated to monitoring growth, development, infrastructure, and civic engagement in the City of Raleigh. Through timely reporting and community forums, Livable Raleigh empowers citizens with clear, actionable information.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 636 registered voters in Raleigh from November 20-21, 2025. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.9%. 81% of the interviews were conducted by text message and 19% by telephone. Any media inquiries about the poll methodology can be directed to Jim Williams of PPP at jim.williams@
A copy of the poll results can be downloaded here: Raleigh Poll Results
Livable Raleigh Editorial Team
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