Donald Trump Is Toxic and Inspiring a Democratic Surge in Virginia Governor's Race
BY JASON LE MIERE ON 10/28/17 AT 9:00 AM
While next month’s gubernatorial election in Virginia has long been viewed as an early referendum on the presidency of Donald Trump, a historically unpopular commander-in-chief who is at war with his own party, the results will also show much about whether the much-vaunted “resistance” to the Republican president will be borne out where it really matters—at the polls. Just more than a week before Virginians go to the polls to decide between Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie, it appears to be a battle Democrats are winning.
“Not only is there the normal referendum issue going on here, it’s extra weighted because of the blowback to Donald Trump,” Dr. Rachel Bitecofer, the assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Virginia’s Christopher Newport University—which has done extensive polling on the race and on Trump's impact—told Newsweek Thursday. “Democratic voters are far more enthusiastic to cast ballots than their Republican counterparts are, and it’s a product of a backlash to Donald Trump.”
Trump’s approval rating in the state, which he lost to Hillary Clinton by five points in 2016, is at a lowly 33 percent, a bit below where he stands nationally. Such a figure is unheard of for a president just nine months after taking office.
Gillespie could well pay the price. Thirty-two percent of likely voters in Virginia said Trump would be a factor in their vote for governor, according to a Wason Center poll, with 20 percent saying he was a major factor. For many in Virginia, the election offers a first chance to offer a clear rebuke of what is taking place in Washington. Twenty-eight percent of those polled said their votes would be messages of disapproval for Trump, compared to 17 percent who said they were planning to cast ballots as signals of support.
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http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-virginia-governors-race-694714
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