The race for governor is in a virtual tie. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe has a one point lead over Republican Glenn Youngkin in a new poll from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University. That's well inside the margin of error.
"What's happened is Trumpflation, which is what I think has been influencing Virginia elections over the last four or five years has receded," Quentin Kidd surmises. Kidd is academic director at the Wason Center. "And we're back to a Virginia that looks like 2013 or 2014 where Democrat Mark Warner barely won reelection, where Terry McAuliffe beat Ken Cuccinelli in 2013 by two or three points."
The poll also show a shift in Richmond and Central Virginia, where support for Republicans has increased significantly since the Wason Center's last poll. "With Richmond shifting toward Youngkin that's suggesting that some of these suburban voters are gravitating toward Youngkin's message. And certainly we've seen him playing up issues relating to education and some culture war issues that might be driving this," says Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, research director at the Wason Center.
Read the full poll results and analysis here
The poll also shows a growing gender divide. Male voters are shifting toward Republicans and female voters are moving toward Democrats.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
