Regardless of what Hurricane Matthew does, Pat McCrory is struggling against high headwinds and a vicious riptide.

That forecast track is clear in WRAL’s SurveyUSA poll (which has nothing to do with Greg Fishel).

It’s not just that Roy Cooper leads McCrory 48-44. It’s that all the winds are blowing Cooper’s way.

Half (51 percent) of likely voters in the poll “say a candidate’s position on HB2 will strongly influence how they vote this November.” And half (52 percent) of likely voters “say they disapprove of House Bill 2.”

That’s a bad headwind.

Then there’s the rip current. As WRAL’s Mark Binker wrote,

“When asked if the state’s economy is stronger than it was four years ago when McCrory took office, only 25 percent said that it was, while 40 percent said the state’s economy is weaker. On a separate question, more than two-thirds of voters said their own economic well-being is either the same or worse than it was four years ago.”

Again (see yesterday’s blog), McCrory’s Carolina Comeback is drowning in that surf.