polling

• A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows President Obama’s approval rating at 40 percent, the same level President George W. Bush logged before the 2006 Democratic wave. The Democratic Party also has hit the skids, with 39 percent of voters favoring it — a 10-point drop since August.

• After a campaign event last night in Cary, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will lead a national security roundtable in Goldsboro today with Republican Senate nominee Thom Tillis and several state lawmakers.

• A News & Record analysis of state legislative races in the Greensboro area shows “quality of life” issues topping the candidates’ messages.

• The N.C. Democratic Party’s Executive Council endorses former appeals court Judge John Arrowood for the open Court of Appeals seat that has attracted 19 candidates.

• NPR looks at 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Clay Aiken as he campaigns in the district.