Virginia voters closely divided on direction of state: poll

Virginia voters are divided in their views about the political direction of their state more than a year after the state flipped in 2021 from having a Democrat to a Republican in the governor’s mansion and voters split the legislature, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll. 

The poll, published Thursday, found that 47 percent of respondents said the commonwealth of Virginia is headed in the right direction, while 42 percent of those surveyed said it is on the wrong track.

When asked about Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) handling of his position, 52 percent of respondents said they approve of the job he is doing, while 39 percent of those surveyed disapprove of Youngkin’s handling of the position.

There was a stark divide along political party lines. Nine in 10 state Republican respondents said they approve of the job Youngkin is doing, compared to 57 percent of independents and 14 percent of Democrats, according to the poll. 

Additionally, 31 percent of state respondents said that Youngkin, who defeated former state Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in 2021, would make a good president, while 56 percent of those surveyed said he would not.

Youngkin, who is considered to be a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, defended his policies on transgender students and his executive order banning critical race theory — an academic framework evaluating U.S. history through the lens of racism that has become a political catch-all buzzword for any race-related teaching — from public school education during a CNN-televised town hall last month, arguing that parents should have a right to know what’s going on with their child’s education. 

“The heart of our policy is that parents should know what’s going on in their children’s lives and have a role,” Youngkin said last month. “And when they do, then, in fact, they can tackle these difficult decisions together as a family.”

On schools, 90 percent of state respondents said they support the idea of schools taking steps to prevent bullying and harassment of trans students, while 7 percent of state respondents disagree with the sentiment.

The Washington Post-Schar School poll was conducted from March 21-26 with 1,002 respondents participating. The poll’s margin of error was 3 percentage points.