NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Virginia voters rank themselves moderate, leaning slightly conservative, but support Democrats’ proposals on health care, immigration, environmental policy and economic fairness, according to a survey released today by the Wason Center for Civic Leadership at Christopher Newport University.
“These findings reveal a political danger zone between policy and ideology,” said Wason Center Research Director Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo. “That will become a war zone as this year’s election for governor and House of Delegates tests whether the Democrats moved too far and too fast with a progressive legislative agenda since they won full control two years ago.”
Here are the highlights of the survey:
· Asked to place themselves on a 0-10 scale (liberal to conservative, with a midpoint of 5), Virginia voters’ average was 5.83. Republicans’ self-score was 8.11, Democrats’ 3.57, and independents’ 5.72.
· On health care, a strong majority of Virginia voters support changes to U.S. policy, with the strongest support for a Medicare for all-that-want-it program (76%).
· On immigration, a strong majority of Virginia voters (73%) support providing a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants now in the U.S., with even stronger support (94%) for “Dreamers.”
· On environmental policy, two-thirds of voters (65%) support a “Green New Deal” to address climate change by government investment in “green” jobs and infrastructure.
· Asked to rank problems in the economy, 61% of Virginia voters point to unfairness in the system favoring the wealthy, as do 93% of Democrats and 72% of independents, while 70% of Republicans say the more important problem is over-regulation of the free market interfering with growth.
· Overall, 69% of Virginia voters favor imposing a higher tax rate on annual income over $1 million.
· The survey reveals more policy gaps between self-identified Republicans and ideological conservatives than between Democrats and ideological liberals, possibly reflecting turmoil in the Republican ranks.
· Independents generally align with Democrats, including support for Medicare for all-that-want-it; a $15 minimum wage; a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; government investment in “green” jobs; and a wealth tax. With Republicans, independents support increased spending on border security.
“Virginia voters regard Republicans as more conservative than they regard Democrats as more liberal,” said Wason Center Academic Director Dr. Quentin Kidd. “The question is, where’s the sweet spot in this election?”
The results of this study are based on interviews of 1,003 interviews of registered Virginia voters, including 427 on landline and 576 on cell phone, conducted Feb. 28- March 17, 2021 The margin of error overall is +/- 3.8%. The full report is attached and online at https://cnu.edu/wasoncenter/ .
