Over the summer, Republicans were talking about Virginia being a battleground state. Now polls seem to show that's slipping away.
Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump by 10 points, a lead that indicates Republican hopes of winning Virginia are falling out of reach. That's according to a new poll from the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.
"I think the lead the poll should be alarming to Trump and his supporters. Virginia, as I've always said, is not a red state nor a blue state," says former Governor Doug Wilder — the director of the school "I used to call it a purple state. But I really now call it a people state, and I think people in Virginia are really voting issues."
The poll shows the issue most important to voters is the cost of living, although it also shows voters are closely split on which candidate they trust to handle the economy – 38% say Harris, 37% say Trump.
"The northern Virginia vote, the Tidewater vote is very, very heavy," Wilder explains. "Who carries the middle vote and who can connect those three areas in my judgment will be the person. And what connects them more than anything else? Money. And what is money in this instance? The cost of living, the economy."
Over the summer, the Wilder School had a poll that showed Trump with a narrow lead over then-likely nominee, President Joe Biden. So, this latest poll shows now that with Harris on the ticket, Democrats have the momentum heading into the fall election season.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
