Poll: Comstock trailing Dem challenger in Virginia House race

Incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) is trailing her Democratic challenger state Sen. Jennifer Wexton by 7 points in her northern Virginia district, according to a new poll.

Fifty-one percent of likely voters support Wexton in the race while 44 percent support Comstock, according to the Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy poll released Thursday.

The poll found similar results to a Monmouth University survey released earlier this week, which found Wexton with a 6-point lead over Comstock among likely voters.

Comstock, who represents more liberal suburbs of Washington, D.C., in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, is widely considered one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents running this year. The Cook Political Report rates the House race as “Lean Democratic.”  

{mosads}In a model for the poll released Thursday that only includes “the most committed voters,” Comstock trails Wexton by an even larger margin, 11 points, with 42 percent supporting the incumbent and 53 percent supporting Wexton.

The poll also found that Democrats have an enthusiasm advantage in the poll, with 75 percent saying they are “very enthusiastic” about casting their vote in the midterm elections, compared to 59 percent of Republicans say the same.

Wexton has also opened up a large lead among Independent voters, garnering 55 percent of Independents’ support while Comstock only gets 37 percent of Independents’ support in the poll. 

Wexton may also be buoyed by President Trump’s deeply underwater approval rating in the poll. About 38 percent of likely voters say they approve of the job Trump is doing, while 59 percent say they disapprove.

The Democrats need to flip 23 House seats to gain control of the chamber. 

The Judy Ford Wason Center For Public Policy poll surveyed 794 likely voters in Comstock’s district from Sept. 23 through Oct. 2. It has an overall margin of error of 4.1 points and a margin of error of 4.3 points for the “committed voter” model.