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Despite Not Being on Ballot, President Trump Looms Large Over Virginia Midterm Elections

AP Photo / Susan Walsh

President Trump will not be on the ballot this year in Virginia. But voters are likely to cast ballots thinking about him.

58% of Virginia voters disapprove of how President Donald Trump is performing in office. Only 37% approve. That’s according to a new poll from the University of Mary Washington, where Stephen Farnsworth says Republican candidates up and down the ballot will suffer.

“The unpopularity of Trump is a drag on Republican candidates, in part because some Republicans aren’t enthusiastic about Trump.”

78% of Republicans approve of Trump. But 19% disapprove — that’s one out of five Republicans in Virginia who don’t approve of the Republican president. And the areas where he is most unpopular also happen to have the hottest congressional races this year.

“Members of Congress from Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia who are Republicans are in a lot of trouble right now because that’s where a lot of the anti-Trump sentiment is concentrated.”

That puts Republican Congressman Scott Taylor and Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock at risk, unless they figure out a way to distance themselves from Trump in a state where he lost by five points.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.