Richard Burr has a really awful approval rating, down to 35% support in North Carolina. And that’s starting to get reflected in his general election matchups. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who leads in primary tests, now trails by just 5 points and holds Burr to 41% support, well under the 50% threshold. Tom Jensen, whose polling outfit is from Charlotte and who polls the area frequently, writes:

Burr’s early leads are similar to what Elizabeth Dole had against Kay Hagan two years ago. Hagan polled well behind initially because she was not well known, and the Democratic candidates this year are no different. 71% of voters have no opinion about Elaine Marshall, 85% are ambivalent toward Kenneth Lewis, and Cal Cunningham is an unknown to 86%.

Because the candidates are pretty obscure at this point the best measure of Burr’s standing right now may be how he fares against a generic Democratic candidate. He leads 41-39 there, indicating that this could be a highly competitive race once the Democrats have a nominee who has built up some name recognition.

Marshall has recently gone after Burr for his job votes, and both primary challengers Marshall and Cal Cunningham have expressed support for reforming the filibuster. Richard Burr is in a fair bit of trouble, and it’s reflective of the anti-incumbent mood in the country.