WaPo-Schar school poll shows Virginia governor’s neck and neck race

Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe (R) and Glenn Youngkin (R) are neck and neck in the race for the governor’s mansion, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll out on friday.

The survey found that 50 percent of likely voters support McAuliffe, compared to 47 percent who support Youngkin.

Among registered voters, support for McAuliffe drops slightly to 49%, compared to 43% for Youngkin.

The results among likely voters are within the poll’s 4.5 point margin of error. When considering the results of polls among registered voters, McAuliffe’s lead is just outside the poll’s margin of error.

Early voting began in the gubernatorial elections on Friday, kicking off the home stretch of campaigns.

The candidates clashed in a debate Thursday, where the candidates fought over various topics such as reproductive rights, the economy and the coronavirus pandemic. The candidates are expected to debate again on September 28 at George Mason University.

Latest poll results come after Emerson College / Nexstar media poll released this month showed McAuliffe similarly leading Youngkin from 49% to 45%.

Twenty-five percent of voters registered in Friday’s poll said the economy was the most important issue in their choice of governor. 17% said the pandemic was the main problem, 14% said education was theirs, and 11% prioritized crime and public safety.

Youngkin barely led McAuliffe on crime and public safety among registered voters, according to the poll. Forty-two percent said they trusted the Republican businessman rather than McAuliffe. Forty percent said they trusted McAuliffe on the matter.

Youngkin also held a 42% to 41% advantage over McAuliffe in Confidence in Managing the Economy.

However, more registered voters said they trusted McAuliffe rather than Youngkin on the pandemic by a 44% to 35% margin.

The poll interviewed a random sample of 987 adults in Virginia, including 907 registered voters and 728 likely voters from September 7 to 13, 2021. It has a margin or error of +/- 4 percentage points among registered voters and 4 , 5 percentage points among probable voters.