WaPo-Schar School Virginia Poll: Among Registered Voters, McAuliffe Up 6 Pts. (49%-43%); Among “Likely Voters,” McAuliffe Up 3 Pts. (50%-47%)

The Washington Post waits until a Friday evening in mid-September to finally release its first poll of the Virginia governor’s race. Here are the highlights:

• “Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are locked in a tight race for Virginia governor, with McAuliffe standing at 50 percent to 47 percent for Youngkin among likely voters in a Washington Post-Schar School poll.”
• “Among registered voters, McAuliffe has a 49 percent to 43 percent edge over Youngkin”
• “A majority of Virginia voters are displeased with Biden’s performance in office, with 46 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving. Three percent have no opinion.”
• “The gender gap is significant, with 57 percent of women backing McAuliffe and 55 percent of men supporting Youngkin”
• “Black registered voters support McAuliffe by a wide margin, at 87 percent to 7 percent for Youngkin. That’s similar to Northam’s 87 percent against Gillespie’s 12 percent in 2017, as measured by exit polls. White registered voters support Youngkin at 52 percent compared to 40 percent for McAuliffe, just shy of Gillespie’s 57 percent to 42 percent margin over Northam.”
• “McAuliffe leads by 21 points among likely voters under age 40, though this is a lower-turnout group, especially in off-year elections. Seniors divide about evenly between the candidates, while Youngkin has a 13-point edge among voters ages 40 to 64.”
• “The Post-Schar School poll suggests McAuliffe is faring weaker in Northern Virginia than Northam did four years ago, with the biggest shift in the Northern Virginia exurbs that include Prince William and Loudoun counties. Northam won the region by five percentage points in 2017 (52 percent to 47 percent), but Youngkin leads McAuliffe by 57 percent to 37 percent among likely voters in the Northern Virginia exurbs.”
• “McAuliffe maintains a 33-point lead among voters in the inner D.C. suburbs, though that is smaller than Northam’s 43-point advantage in 2017.”