In-Person Voting Begins In Virginia As Polls Show Tight Race Between Harris And Trump

In-person voting officially began in Virginia on Friday, and early reports suggest that MAGA activists are highly organized and enthusiastic in blue-leaning Fairfax County. The latest polling also indicates a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, with both candidates nearly tied.

A statewide survey from the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) shows Harris with 47% of the support among 756 likely voters, while Trump follows closely behind at 46%. Third-party candidates captured 4% of the vote. In a head-to-head match-up, Harris leads by just 2 points, 48% to 46%, which remains within the poll’s margin of error.

“This new survey suggests Virginia should be getting a much closer look from both presidential campaigns,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, director of UMW’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies. “Virginia may deserve to be treated as a ‘swing state’ once again this year.”

The survey, which concluded just before the presidential debate on Sept. 10, showed that Virginians were greatly concerned with a range of policy issues: 20 percent said the economy and jobs were the top concern, while 19 percent said inflation, 19 percent said threats to democracy, 13 percent said immigration and five percent said abortion. Republicans in the survey focused more on economic matters, while Democrats were more likely to be concerned about threats to democracy and abortion.

Farnsworth noted that some Virginia surveys conducted in the weeks since Biden decided not to run for re-election have offered differing results. Some found a margin favoring Harris that was greater than the survey’s margin of error, while others identified a very close presidential contest in Virginia.

“Given the range of findings in Virginia surveys over the past two months, the Harris and Trump campaigns may be paying far too little attention to the Commonwealth,” Farnsworth said. “Virginians have a history of bouncing back and forth between the parties.”

Four years ago, former Vice President Biden (D) defeated Trump by a 10-point margin in Virginia. A year later, Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected governor by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin, Farnsworth said.

The survey indicated that Virginians approve of Youngkin’s performance by a margin of 12 points.

In the U.S. Senate race, 49% of likely voters favor Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine, while 43% support Republican challenger Hung Cao.

Meanwhile, early voting also began today in South Dakota and Minnesota, marking the start of the fall election season.

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