A poll shows that Harris is leading in Virginia, a state Trump is trying to turn red.

A poll conducted by The Washington Post and the Schar School shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by 8 percentage points in Virginia.

A poll shows that Harris is leading in Virginia, a state Trump is trying to turn red.
A poll shows that Harris is leading in Virginia, a state Trump is trying to turn red.

In Virginia, where the Trump campaign has been striving to turn red after losses in 2016 and 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris is currently leading former President Donald Trump by eight percentage points among likely voters.

Before the presidential debate in Philadelphia, a Washington Post-Schar School poll released on Tuesday showed Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 50% to 42% in Virginia, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Since Harris became the Democratic nominee, the poll shows a significant shift in the top of the Democratic ticket in Virginia.

Trump Harris side by side split
A new poll ahead of Tuesday’s ABC News Presidential Debate shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by eight percentage points among likely voters in Virginia. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images.)

In June 2020, a Planet Chronicle poll showed Biden and Trump in a tie. Despite losing Virginia by more than 10 points in 2020, Clinton had beaten Trump there by more than five points in 2016. Trump ultimately won the presidency.

No Republican has won Virginia's presidency since George W. Bush's re-election in 2004.

Since 2009, the GOP has been making progress in the state, with the election of Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2021 as the first Republican to hold the governorship and further success in the 2022 midterms and the state's 2023 off-year elections.

According to Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, the poll indicates that Trump does not possess a substantial advantage on any issue assessed in the survey.

Rozell stated in The Washington Post that while Harris has a significant lead in the polls, unlike national polls, Trump does not have any advantage on issues such as the economy, immigration, and fighting crime.

"Virginia is not the route to the presidency for Trump."

ABC debate prep in Philadelphia
The poll is a welcome boost for Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Tuesday’s ABC News Presidential Debate, the first presidential debate between the two nominees. ABC News signage pictured being installed in the media file center inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Planet Chronicle Digital.

A poll conducted from Sept. 4 to Sept. 8 revealed that 55% of female Virginia voters would vote for Harris, while 37% would vote for Trump.

Among Black Virginia voters, Harris received 73 percent of their support.

Trump is preferred by likely White voters at 50% to 43% for Harris. Among White likely voters with a college degree, Harris leads Trump 57% to 36%, while White voters without a college degree support Trump by 64% to 29%.

In the Washington, D.C., suburbs, Harris received the highest support with 60%, while in Northern Virginia exurbs, he got 56%. In the Richmond area, Harris also received 55% support. Trump's support is strongest in the more rural central and western parts of Virginia, where he received 60% of the vote. In contrast, the Tidewater region in Eastern Virginia leans towards Harris with 49% support compared to 42% for Trump.

Trump and Kamala Harris
The Washington Post-Schar School poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by 50% to 42% in Virginia. (Getty Images)

While 39% of Virginians have a favorable impression of the former president, 53% have an unfavorable one. Similarly, Harris is net popular with 49% favorable and 42% unfavorable.

A poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,005 registered voters in Virginia, with 65% of participants reached by live callers on cellphones, 14% on landlines, and 21% via cellphone text to-web.

Democrats comprised 31% of the pool of respondents, while Republicans made up 28%. Independents represented 30% of the participants.

by Michael Dorgan

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