A new poll from Roanoke College says Virginians are more divided on everything, from the direction of Virginia to their views of the president.
Ask a Virginian what they think about President Trump or Governor McAuliffe, and the answer you get is likely to depend on who’s answering the question.
“These different groups are, sort of as I describe it, sort of living on different planets.”
That’s Harry Wilson at Roanoke College. He crunched the numbers for this poll.
“5% of Democrats have favorable view of President Trump. 70% of Republicans do. That’s a very significant difference, obviously. That’s a stark difference.”
A majority of voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction. But a plurality think that Virginia is headed in the right track. Most voters disapprove of Trump, although very few of them believe the race for governor is a referendum on his presidency. Quentin Kidd at Christopher Newport University says:
“Virginia is a divided state; it’s just not equally divided. Virginia’s divided but there’s a slight advantage to the Democrats right now in Virginia, there has been for two or three election cycles at the federal level.”
The poll also found Democrat Ralph Northam leading in the race for governor, although most voters say they didn’t know enough about him to have an opinion.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
