A poll released on Wednesday showed that former President Donald Trump has gained ground in Virginia, a state he lost to President Joe Biden by more than ten points four years ago.
A new Roanoke College poll showed that Biden and Trump each earned 42 percent of the vote, while the choices were only the Democratic and Republican presumptive nominees.
When third-party candidates were also included, Biden maintained a slight lead in the state: 40 percent, compared to Trump’s 38 percent.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. polled 8 percent in Virginia, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 3 percent and independent Cornel West got just 1 percent in that scenario.
Thanks in part to Washington DC’s liberal suburbs, Virginia began voting Democratic in presidential elections, starting with President Barack Obama’s victory in 2008.
President Joe Biden (left) defeated former President Donald Trump (right) in Virginia by just over 10 points in 2020. The state’s latest polls show the two candidates tied in a two-way race
Biden and Trump are tied in Virginia at 42 percent of the vote, Roanoke College polling shows, while third-party hopefuls were not named on the ballot
Biden’s 10-point victory over Trump in 2020 was the biggest victory since this trend began, but in Virginia’s 2021 off-year gubernatorial election, Republican Glenn Youngkin was given an upset over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who previously served as the state’s governor.
Current job approval for Biden in the state was 35 percent, while Youngkin was at 52 percent, the survey showed.
Wednesday’s poll was the first Roanoke College poll to show Trump and Biden tied.
The results fall within the study’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percent.
Previous polls in February and November showed the race close and within the surveys’ margin of error.
Trump’s first term is seen by Virginia’s electorate as better for the country, with 44 percent of respondents saying it was mostly good, compared to 33 percent who rated it mostly bad.
Looking at Biden’s first term, 47 percent said it was mostly bad, while only 25 percent said it was mostly good.
When third-party candidates were mentioned, Biden scored a victory over Trump, but this was within the margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percent
Republicans were far more enthusiastic about Trump’s years in office than Democrats were about Biden’s — which could help explain the tightness of the current race.
Fully 87 percent of Republican voters said Trump’s first term was largely good.
Among Democrats, only 50 percent called Biden’s term mostly good.
Trump said earlier during his massive rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, that Virginia was among the blue-leaning states he would compete for in the 2024 race.
He also said he hoped to flip New Jersey and Minnesota.