Virginia is not among the Presidential swing states that are getting all the time and attention right now. And Michael Pope reports on a new poll that might show why.
Joe Biden has a 12-point lead over Donald Trump in Virginia. That’s according to a new poll from the Wason Center for Civic Leadership at Christopher Newport University. Biden is leading Trump in almost every category except white voters and non-college educated voters.
Quentin Kidd is director of the Wason Center.
"I think where Biden really builds on his lead is that he's cut into Trump's and Republican's normal advantage among non-college educated voters, among white voters and among male voters," Kidd explains.
The poll shows the gender gap is widening among males and females. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo is research director at the Wason Center.
"Men seem to be more split here than they normally are," she says. "Joe Biden is doing a little bit better than another Democratic candidate may have done in a different year. So certainly, the gender gap is pretty decisive here."
The U.S. Senate Race
The new poll also shows Senator Mark Warner has a 20-point lead over his Republican opponent Daniel Gade.
Bromley-Trujillo says, "Warner is kind of a name brand in the state. So he's well known, and also the context certainly helps him – a very polarizing presidential candidate that is struggling in a state that is shifting more Democratic over time."
The poll shows white voters are evenly divided, but Warner is leading Gade among men, non-college educated voters and voters over the age of 45.
Kidd adds, "The idea that Republicans would run a candidate who has never held elective office, even if he has a really powerful personal narrative, has never held elective office, suggests where they thought Warner was in terms of his ability to sustain his office and be reelected."
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
