Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) A new poll out of Monmouth University shows the Virginia gubernatorial race to be neck-and-neck. Monmouth University’s poll shows Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie tied in support, 44 percent to 44 percent.
“This race is as tight as tight can be,” Monmouth University poll director Patrick Murray told WMAL. “Anybody who was writing this off as a Democratic year, Virginia voters have other things in mind.”
Murray found President Trump to be playing a small but crucial role. If not for a small percentage of Northam voters who are primarily anti-Trump, Murray said Gillespie would likely be in the lead. 88 percent of Northam voters say they would stick with him if Trump were not a factor. Seven percent of those possible defectors would move into the undecided column.
The poll pegs President Trump’s approval rating in Virginia at 37 percent. Current Governor Terry McAuliffe’s sits at 52 percent. While McAuliffe won a tight race in 2013, Murray found Northam is not running up the score in Northern Virginia as McAuliffe did. McAuliffe won the region by about 22 points, whereas Northam only has a 13 point advantage, Murray said.
The poll was conducted by phone from July 20 to 23, 2017 with 502 Virginia residents likely to vote in the 2017 gubernatorial election. The results have a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: WMAL file)
