Poll: Dem Northam leads Va. governor race by 7 points

Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) leads Republican Ed Gillespie by 7 points in the race to be Virginia’s next governor, according to a new poll.

A poll conducted by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University finds Northam has 49 percent support, compared to Gillespie, who received 42 percent support from those surveyed.

This is a light bump for Northam, who held a 47-41 lead in a poll conducted in late September.

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The poll was conducted among 928 registered voters from Oct. 2 to 6. The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points.

A Washington Post-Schar School poll released earlier this month found Northam with a 13-point lead over Gillespie.

President Trump earlier this month waded into the governor’s race, tweeting that Northam is “fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs and sanctuary cities” and urging people to support Gillespie.

Northam in response called Trump’s attacks “despicable” and “inaccurate.” He said Trump’s comments just “promote the fear mongering.”

The poll is good news for Democrats. Some party operatives have been nervous about how close Virginia could be in what many call a must-win situation for the party.