Virginia governor’s race in dead heat: poll

Virginia’s gubernatorial race between former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin is in a dead heat, according to a new poll conducted by Emerson College and Nexstar Media Group. 

McAuliffe led with 49 percent of likely Virginia voters, while Youngkin was behind at just 48 percent, according to the poll. One percent of voters said they planned to vote for someone else, while 2 percent said they were undecided. 

The latest poll showed a much narrower race compared to a poll of the race released last month that showed McAuliffe leading 49 percent to 45 percent. 

However, the same survey showed a majority of voters saying they believed McAuliffe would ultimately win the race in November. Fifty-five percent said they expected McAuliffe to win, while 44 percent said they expected Youngkin to win. 

The poll also found that President Biden’s approval ratings are also low in the state, an unwelcome sign for McAuliffe and the Democrats running. Forty-five percent of likely Virginia voters said they approved of Biden, while 48 percent said they disapproved of him. Another 8 percent said they were neutral. 

McAuliffe referenced Biden’s low approval numbers in a video that surfaced on Tuesday, warning Democrats to turn out the vote in the state. 

“We got to get Democrats out to vote. We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington as you know. The president is unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia. So we have got to plow through,” McAuliffe said. 

Multiple polls have shown a tightening race in Virginia, which is largely seen as a bellwether ahead of next year’s midterms. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report recently shifted the race from “lean Democratic” to “toss-up.” 

Early voting in the state kicked off in Virginia last month, with more than 180,000 voters in the commonwealth having already cast their vote. Election Day is Nov. 2. 

The poll from Emerson College and Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill, was conducted Oct. 1-3 among 620 likely Virginia voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.