MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump has a slight lead over President Biden in Virginia, a state Republicans haven’t won nationally since 2004, according to a new poll.
Trump outperformed Biden 45% to 43%, with 11% of voters undecided. The former president performed significantly better among independents and was among the new Emerson College Poll/The Hill found.
When undecided voters were asked to choose one, both were tied at 50% support.
If third-party candidates are also included, Trump has a significant lead with 43% to Biden’s 38%, followed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 8%, Cornel West at 2%, Jill Stein at 2% and 8% who are undecided.
“The president is now essentially tied with Trump in states that Biden won by 10 points in 2020,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of the Emerson College Poll, said in a statement.
“Trump supports independents 46% to 38%, a group that swung to Biden by double digits in 2020.”
Other polls have found a similarly competitive showing for Trump in Virginia, with the 45th president up 0.4 percentage points in the latest poll. Real Clear Politics A combination of polls gives Biden a 1.7 percentage point lead in a five-way race.
Republicans are looking to expand their constituency and are targeting Virginia as a potential pick-up point, even though Trump, 78, lost the state in 2020 by about 10 points.
“After 12 years of electing only Democrats statewide, in November 2021, Virginians elected a non-Republican businessman as our 74th governor,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin exclaimed at the Republican National Convention on Monday.
“And this year, I believe Virginia will elect another Republican and businessman man as president of the United States.”
Trump held a similar lead in the matchup against Vice President Kamala Harris, beating her 47% to 45%, with 9% undecided, according to the Emerson poll.
Overall, Biden’s approval rating among Virginia voters is low: Just 37% approve of the job he’s doing, while 53% disapprove.
In contrast, Youngkin’s approval rating was 46% and his disapproval rating was 38%.
The poll found the top issues for Virginia voters include the economy (40%), housing prices (12%), threats to democracy (9%), education (7%) and abortion (6%).
In the House of Representatives, incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) won by 10 percentage points over his Republican rival, Hun Kao, 49% to 39%. During the Democratic wave in 2018, Kaine He defeated a Republican challenger. Approximately 16 points.
Biden’s struggling poll numbers, combined with growing concerns about his intellectual ability, have sparked a rebellion against him within the Democratic Party.
Democrats confirmed this week that they will not wait until August to formally nominate Trump as the party’s nominee, but are maintaining plans to hold a virtual roll call before their convention later that month.
At least 21 Democrats, including Rep. Marie Grusenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), have called on Biden to resign.
So far, Biden has refused to hand over the baton as the party’s interim standard-bearer.
