NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Democrat Abigail Spanberger continues to hold a lead in statewide polls over her Republican opponent Winsome Earle-Sears in this year's governor's race, according to a report released Monday by Christopher Newport University's Wason Center for Civic Leadership.
This poll revealed narrower polling leads for the Democratic candidates across the statewide ticket among likely Virginia voters compared to the previous CNU poll conducted in September.
Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is trailing by 10 percentage points among Virginia likely voters, the CNU poll finds. Democrat Abigail Spanberger leads in a 52% to 42% split.
Watch previous coverage: Governor's race tightens according to VCU poll
A poll released by Emerson College on Oct. 2 showed a very similar polling lead for the Democratic candidate.
This recent CNU poll revealed that Spanberger's lead shrank slightly, when compared to the September survey. CNU last reported that Spanberger held a 12-point lead over Earle-Sears.
However, Research Director of the Wason Center for Civic Leadership Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo says Earle-Sears still has a "tough hill to climb" due to Spanberger consistently polling above 50%. The official added that winning over independents would be one of the best options for the GOP candidate moving forward.
It should be noted, CNU reported that 6% of those polled chose "undecided" or "don't know" when it comes to the Virginia governor's race.
The other Democrats on the statewide ticket have polling leads above the CNU poll's margin of error (3.9%).
Watch related: Winsome Earle-Sears made history when she ran for office in Virginia
The outlined percentage changes are in comparison to the CNU's last poll, which was conducted in September:
Lieutenant governor election poll numbers:
- State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D): 48% (No change since September)
- Former radio host John Reid (R): 39% (+2 since September)
- Undecided/don't know: 12% (-3 since September)
Attorney general election poll numbers:
- Former State Del. Jay Jones (D): 49% (+1 since September)
- Current Attorney General Jason Miyares (R): 43% (+2 since September)
- Undecided/don't know: 9% (-3 since September)
This poll was conducted before Jones' text message controversy garnered news coverage. Bromley-Trujillo says Jones' polling could be harmed by this scandal — however, she added that split-ticket voting is not common in Virginia politics, meaning Spanbeger's lead would remain somewhat unaffected by the controversy (this is speculative).
In total, 805 Virginia likely voters were surveyed for the CNU poll. Officials say one more poll will be released by late October, the last before Election Day.
This poll also asked Virginia voters about the most important issues to them, and their opinions on which candidate is better equipped to handle each issue.
- Threats to democracy: 19%
- Inflation: 18%
- Immigration: 10%
- Healthcare: 10%
The poll revealed that Spanberger led across all issues in terms of her ability to handle them:
- Climate change (+26 for Spanberger)
- Reproductive rights (+20 for Spanberger)
- Health care (+18 for Spanberger)
- Transgender policy (+13 for Spanberger)
- K-12 education (+12 for Spanberger)
- Threats to democracy (+10 for Spanberger)
- Inflation (+9 for Spanberger)
- Federal workforce reductions (+8 for Spanberger)
- Gun policy (+7 for Spanberger)
- Immigration (+6 for Spanberger)
- Taxes (+4 for Spanberger)
- Crime (+2 for Spanberger)
Early voting in Virginia started on Sept. 19. Election Day is on Nov. 4.
