Early Voting Begins in Virginia With New Poll Shaking Up Race 

With early voting beginning Friday, a new poll from Christopher Newport University found the Democrat candidates leading in off-off-year elections in Virginia and that they have gained ground since the previous major poll, which showed the candidates neck and neck.  

The new polling, conducted by the CNU Wason Center for Civic Leadership, surveyed 808 likely Virginia voters from Sept. 8 to 14.  

The poll found Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman and the Democrat gubernatorial candidate, leads her race with 52%. Her opponent, current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, had 40%.

However, another recent poll of 1,025 likely voters—conducted Aug. 23-26 by Co/Efficient with a margin of error of 3.06%—showed Earle-Sears trailing by just 5 points, 48% to 43%.

Other races are also competitive, according to the CNU poll. The Democrat candidate for lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hashmi, leads Republican John Reid 48% to 37%. Co/Efficient on Aug. 26 found the two were tied at 43%.

Incumbent state Attorney General Jason Miyares is running for reelection against Democrat former state Delegate Jay Jones. According to CNU, Jones is leading by 7 points, 48% to 41%. Co/Efficient’s poll showed Jones was ahead by just 1 point, 45% to 44%.

The CNU poll also asked voters about their top-of-mind issues. The most important issues, according to Virginians polled, are inflation/the cost of living (21%), threats to democracy (18%), K-12 education (9%), immigration (9%), and crime (9%).  

With early voting commencing ahead of the Nov. 4 election, the candidates made appearances at early-voting sites across the state. On Friday evening, the GOP candidates held a rally in Chesterfield, Virginia, with special guests Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Ohio’s likely 2026 Republican gubernatorial nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy.