Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring are holding comfortable leads ahead of the commonwealth’s Democratic primary Tuesday.
According to the Roanoke College poll, each has 49% support from likely voters.
“To the surprise of few, McAuliffe and Herring appear headed for victory on Tuesday,” said Harry Wilson, senior political analyst of the Roanoke College Poll, in a news release.
“The race for lieutenant governor is there for the taking, with a large percentage of the electorate undecided on their decision. It is also clear that the Democratic primary electorate in Virginia is well-educated, upper-income and very liberal, but McAuliffe, arguably not the most far-left candidate, appears set to win the election.”
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Former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy trails McAuliffe with 11%; Sen. Jennifer McClellan has 9%; Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has 5% and Del. Lee Carter has 1%.
In the race for attorney general, Del. Jay Jones had 20% of respondents planning to vote for him.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Del. Hala Ayala leads Del. Sam Rasoul 16% to 11%, with five other candidates trailing and 45% still undecided.
According to the poll, Ayala is faring better in Tidewater and Northern Virginia; Rasoul is doing well in Southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.
Issues most often mentioned by voters include the economy (18%), the COVID-19 pandemic (14%), education (8%), health care (8%), economic inequality (7%), race relations (6%), climate change (6%) and gun control (5%).
The Roanoke poll interviewed 637 likely Democratic voters between May 24 and June 1, with a 3.9-point margin of error.
