A new poll finds former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe trailing Republican challenger Glen Youngkin among likely voters in the pivotal race for Virginia’s governorship.
The Fox News poll released Thursday found that 53% of likely voters supported Youngkin, while only 45% said they supported McAuliffe.
That same poll previously found that McAuliffe was garnering 51% support among likely voters, with Youngkin receiving only 46% support.
The gubernatorial election will be decided Tuesday.
McAuliffe has tried to tie Youngkin as much as possible to former President Donald Trump in an attempt to motivate his liberal and Democratic base to the polls.
The former governor (2014-18) gave the Youngkin campaign damaging ammunition when he said during a debate that parents should not be allowed to tell schools what to teach their children. The quote played into fears over transgender bathroom policies, critical race theory, and vaccine mandates in schools.
The gubernatorial election is seen by many as a bellwether for the upcoming midterm elections where Republicans are expected to retake the U.S. House of Representatives with a favorable slate of elections. Democrats worry that if the election is close at all that it could mean Republicans are heading toward many electoral victories.
Although McAuliffe had been favored early to win the election, more recent polling shows Youngkin making inroads to tighten the race significantly.
“Independents have abandoned Joe Biden, Terry McAuliffe’s numbers have been declining among independents as well,” said Dr. Bob Holworth, a political analyst for WTVR-TV.
“And that I think, more than anything else, may be the major factor that’s impacting these polls and tightening the election in Virginia,” he added.
The Fox News poll, conducted Oct. 24-27, had a margin error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Here’s more about the Virginia gubernatorial election:
With Election Day in Virginia just a week away, new poll shows close governor’s race
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