New VA Poll: Dems Lead “Generic” Ballot 42%-41%; Only 24% of Virginians Want More Restrictive Abortion Laws

New polling from the Wason Center for Civic Leadership at CNU has a bunch of interesting findings, including the following. Also, as you look at these results, keep in mind that “70% of  Democratic likely voters indicate they have given the upcoming General Assembly elections either a lot of thought (37%) or some thought (33%) compared to 61% of Republicans (30% a lot of thought, 31% some thought), and 65% of Independents.” So that’s good news; now Dems just need to VOTE!

• “Virginia likely voters are split on whether they intend to support the Democratic or Republican Party’s candidate in their district for the General Assembly (42% to 41%).”
• “Top of mind issues for likely voters in the upcoming election include the economy and inflation (27%), abortion (17%) and K-12 education (12%). Republicans largely coalesce around the economy (41%), while Democrats’ top issue is abortion (25%), and Independents say the economy and inflation (30%), followed by abortion (16%).”
• “55% of Virginia likely voters approve of the job Governor Glenn Youngkin is doing compared to 41% approval for President Joe Biden.”
• “A majority of Virginia likely voters support either keeping Virginia abortion law as is (49%) or making abortion law less restrictive (23%), while 24% say Virginia should make abortion laws more restrictive.”‘
• “A small majority of Virginians oppose a 15-week abortion ban (54% to 39%) while majorities say abortions should be legal if a pregnancy threatens the life or health of the mother (88%), is the result of rape (82%), in the case of an unviable pregnancy (81%), and if the baby is likely to be born with severe disabilities or health problems (65%).”
• “A majority are satisfied with their community K-12 public schools (58%) and trust teachers to make the right decisions for children in K-12 public schools (81%).”
• “Book bans are unpopular among Virginia likely voters, while majorities support requiring parental notification if a student wants to go by pronouns that differ from their birth certificate (67%) and would prevent transgender athletes from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity (65%).”
• “A majority of Virginia likely voters say they think public schools should teach about the ways racism in America’s history affects the country today with 69% saying it should be taught either a great deal (38%) or a good amount (31%).”
• “Virginia likely voters support allowing the retail sale of recreational marijuana (58%) and staying in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (65%), a carbon cap and trade program aimed at reducing carbon pollution.”