Elon poll: It's anybody's race

The latest Elon University poll, released Monday, shows no clear frontrunner in the mayoral race between Anthony and John Lassiter -- which isn't that surprising, considering the election is more than a month away.

But here's the revealing part: A whopping 68 percent of respondents believe the mayoral election is "very important" for the city, and more than half said things in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have either "gotten off on the wrong track" or "strongly gotten off on the wrong track."

This is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the 14-year mayoral reign of Pat McCrory, Lassiter's close friend and political ally. Lassiter has as much power of incumbency as you can have without actually being an incumbent -- but it doesn't seem to be making much difference.

Another "tell": The poll was taken in the five days after the primary election, when Lassiter had been all over the television news, and with his billboards and yard signs everywhere. If there was any time for a pro-Lassiter polling "bump," this was it. But no bump. He is bumpless.

Advantage Anthony, wouldn't you say?