Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger is leading Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by 9 points in a recent poll, down from 12 points in July.
Spanberger has 49% support among registered Virginia voters compared to Earle-Sears’s 40% support, according to a Sept. 9 poll released by Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Two months prior, Earle-Sears had 37% support. Spanberger’s percentage remains unchanged.
The latest results suggest that while Earle-Sears has been slowly closing the gap, it may not be enough to overtake Spanberger less than two months before Election Day. Early voting in Virginia’s gubernatorial election begins on Friday, Sept. 19.
Less than half of independent voters, 48%, remain undecided about the race.
Pollster L. Douglas Wilder, the Democratic governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994, said the election will be determined by independent and undecided voters. He also stressed the national significance of the state race this election cycle.
“With Virginia and New Jersey being the only states holding elections in November, there is much speculation as to what these results portend for the political landscape, not just for the Commonwealth, but across the nation,” Wilder said.
The poll shows other Democratic candidates leading their Republican counterparts.
Ghazala Hashmi holds a 4-point lead over John Reid (45%-41%) in the contest for lieutenant governor, and Jay Jones is leading incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares by 6 points (47%-41%). If each Democratic candidate were to win, the state’s Republican trifecta would flip.
TRUMP SIGNALS HE WOULD ENDORSE WINSOME EARLE-SEARS IN VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE
As for the gubernatorial race, Earle-Sears has been struggling to gain traction, even though she received the endorsement of term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) last fall. President Donald Trump has yet to back Earle-Sears, although he said he would endorse her last month.
“Yeah, I would,” Trump said outside the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania when asked by the Washington Examiner. “I think probably she’s got a tough race. She shouldn’t have, but the candidate she’s running against is not very good, but I think she’s got a tough race.”