The non-partisan John W. Pope Civitas Institute released a new SurveyUSA  showing Ilario Pantano, Republican nominee, pulling ahead of incumbent Democrat Congressman Mike McIntyre in the race for North Carolina's 7th Congressional District.

The SurveyUSA poll of 450 registered voters in the 7th District shows Pantano leading Congressman McIntyre 46% to 45% among all registered voters, and among voters whom the pollster considered "most likely to vote in 2010" Pantano surges to a 10 point lead over McIntyre, 52% to 42%. Pantano is ahead by large margins among Republican voters (Pantano 81% - McIntyre 14%) and unaffiliated voters (Pantano 61% - McIntyre 34%).