New polling from the CNU/Wason Center is mostly great news for Virginia Democratic policy priorities:

January 28, 2026

Virginians Show High Levels of Support for: Amendments to State Constitution on Reproductive Rights, and Felon Re-enfranchisement; Retail Marijuana Sale; Limits on Data Centers; $15 per hour Minimum Wage; Paid Sick Leave; Paid Family and Medical Leave  

Slight Majorities or a Plurality of Virginians Support Eliminating 1 Percent Local Option Sales Tax; Making Gun Laws Stricter; Some Changes to Right-to-Work and Redistricting mid-cycle

Summary of Key Findings

1. A plurality of Virginians say the state is headed in the right direction (46% right, 10% mixed, 35% wrong) but are more pessimistic about the direction of the country (28% right, 6% mixed, 65% wrong).
2. 34% of Virginians approve of the job President Trump is doing while 62% disapprove; 4% don’t know. Youngkin’s final gubernatorial approval rating was 44%.
3. Looking ahead to Governor Abigail Spanberger’s term, a majority of Virginians are optimistic (60%), while 3% are mixed and 33% are pessimistic about her term as governor.
4. Virginians say the following are the top issues facing the state: inflation and cost of living (31%), political extremism/threats to democracy (22%), healthcare (11%), and K-12 education (10%).
5. A majority of Virginians support amending the state’s constitution to guarantee reproductive rights in the state, such as access to abortion and contraception (66% support/strongly support) and to allow felons that have completed their prison sentence to have their voting rights automatically restored upon release (64% support/strongly support).
6. On redistricting, while a majority of Virginians support the current way the state does redistricting (63%), a narrow majority support a constitutional amendment that would temporarily change that method to allow the state legislature to draw new district lines mid-way through the census cycle in response to other states (51% support/strongly support).
7. A majority of Virginians support allowing the retail sale of recreational marijuana in the Commonwealth (60%).
8. When it comes to data centers, Virginians support laws that would prohibit locating them within a mile of a national park, state park, or historically significant site (69%), requiring newly constructed data centers to derive their energy from renewable or nuclear sources (63%), requiring a site assessment before data center approval looking at water usage, the electric grid, carbon emissions, and agricultural impacts (86%), and a law requiring localities to conduct a noise study if the site is close to homes or schools (81%).
9. On Virginia’s right-to-work law, Virginian’s hold somewhat contradictory views with a majority supporting keeping the law as-is (58% to 33%), while also narrowly supporting a full repeal (50% to 42%). Pluralities support modifying the law such that non-union members work under separate contracts from union members (44% to 43%) and no longer requiring unions to represent non-union members in work disputes (54% to 37%).
10. A large majority of Virginians support increasing Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2028 (78% support/strongly support) and requiring Virginia employers to provide some form of paid sick leave to employees (80% support/strongly support).
11. A majority of Virginians support a law requiring Virginia to establish a paid family and medical leave program providing up to 12 weeks of benefits for eligible individuals (84% support/strongly support).

Click here to access the full report.

About the Wason Center: The Wason Center for Civic Leadership at Christopher Newport University empowers students to be informed and active civic leaders and conducts nonpartisan surveys of public opinion across the Commonwealth.