Some Republican candidates may not be polling well in Virginia. But Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has a 57% approval rating in Virginia, according to a new poll from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. That's despite the fact that the same poll shows Republican candidates for president and Senate losing to Democrats.
"So, Hung Cao is at least 12 percentage points behind Tim Kaine; Donald Trump slightly less behind Kamala Harris," says Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School. "And then Glenn Youngkin has relatively strong approval ratings at the same time."
Youngkin is not just popular with Republicans. The poll shows 62% of independent voters say they approve of the job he's doing as governor.
"The governor has not been able to translate his popularity into support for Republican candidates running statewide in Virginia."
Rozell says the governor seems to be defying polarization, keeping relatively strong approval ratings despite the unpopularity of the Republicans at the top of the ticket in Virginia this fall.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
