The first statewide poll taken since Corey Stewart won the Republican Senate nomination shows him trailing Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine by 18 per cent. The Quinnipiac University poll released today finds Virginia voters favoring Kaine at the moment, 54 to 36 per cent. Men are about evenly split, but the poll shows women preferring Kaine more than two to one. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
From Quinnipiac University: With a lead among women topping 2-1, Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic incumbent, has an overall lead of 54–36 percent over Republican challenger Corey Stewart, chair of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. Women back Sen. Kaine 61–28 percent, while men are divided with 46 percent for Kaine and 45 percent for Stewart, the independent Quinnipiac University Poll finds. White voters go Democratic 49–42 percent. Non-white voters go Democratic 66–20 percent. Stewart takes Republicans 83–7 percent. Kaine leads 94–1 percent among Democrats and 54–34 percent among independent voters. Virginia voters approve 55–36 percent of the job Kaine is doing and give him a 51–33 percent favorability rating. Stewart gets a divided 28–30 percent favorability, with 39 percent who don’t know enough about him to form an opinion of him.
The economy is the most important issue in deciding how they will vote for U.S. Senator, 26 percent of Virginia voters say, as 21 percent list immigration, with 19 percent citing health care and 14 percent listing gun policy. “U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is in very strong shape for reelection in Virginia, especially among women,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. “Virginia, which was once a solidly red state, has made the full transition to a blue bastion. Voters in the Old Dominion are happy with the way things are going in their state and they give their statewide Democratic office-holders good approval ratings.”
“The office-holder they don’t like is President Donald Trump, whose job approval is strongly negative. Voters see candidates who embrace him negatively,” Brown added. Only 32 percent of Virginia voters have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, while 59 percent have an unfavorable opinion. The Democratic Party gets a divided 46–45 percent favorability rating.
Click here for full poll results and methodology.
