As we head into the final GOTV weekend, this race looks to be incredibly tight, apparently fueled by so-called Independent voters moving towards Youngkin as Election Day nears.
Interesting to note that education has surged from only the most important issue for 15% of likely voters one month ago, to being the most important issue for 24% now–presumably due to the heightened media focus on contentious school board disputes over mask and vaccine mandates, CRT and SEL curriculum, and policies to protect transgender students’ rights.
In any case, there’s no point in fretting over polls now–everyone dig deep and work your heart out this last weekend. Vote if you haven’t already, remind every friend and relative to vote, and volunteer to help the campaigns if at all possible.
The Washington Post’s Gregory S. Schneider, Laura Vozzella, Scott Clement and Emily Guskin report: Virginia’s race for governor is a toss-up as Tuesday’s election approaches, according to a Post-Schar School poll. The poll finds 49 percent of likely voters favor Democrat Terry McAuliffe and 48 percent favor Republican Glenn Youngkin.
The result is little changed from last month, when a Post-Schar School poll measured the race at 50 percent McAuliffe-47 percent Youngkin — although the Democrat’s six percentage-point edge among all registered voters in September has narrowed to three points in the new poll, at 47 percent for McAuliffe to 44 percent for Youngkin.
Youngkin is fueled by an 18-point advantage among independent likely voters, up from an eight-point advantage last month — a significant swing in a group that could determine the election’s outcome. While Virginia does not register voters by party, 33 percent of voters in the poll identified themselves as independents. That compares with 34 percent who said they consider themselves Democrats and 27 percent who said they are Republicans.
The Post-Schar School poll, which was conducted Oct. 20-26, finds a larger share of voters saying education is the top issue in their vote compared with the September poll, with fewer citing the coronavirus as the biggest factor in their decision. The survey interviewed 918 likely voters reached by professional interviewers on cellphones and landlines, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Full story: https://wapo.st/3nELEWP.
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