Staff Reports
The recent poll from the University of Mary Washington has thrown a proverbial monkey wrench into the Democrats’ plans by showing a surprisingly tight race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in Virginia. With Harris leading Trump by a mere one percentage point—47 percent to 46 percent—this signals that the old red state, once firmly in the grip of Democrat control, is beginning to resemble more of a battleground.
Conducted between September 3 and 9, the poll paints a picture that’s anything but comforting for those who are traditionally quick to pencil in Democrats for a win in Virginia. With third-party candidates scraping up an additional four percent of the votes, the clarity of the outcome remains murky, prompting experts to suggest that both campaigns need to start paying the kind of close attention Virginia hasn’t seen since the halcyon days of 2004.
JUST IN: President Trump And Harris Are Currently TIED In Shocking Blue State Poll 🔥https://t.co/TtcjuMPIJR
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) September 22, 2024
For years, Virginia has been firmly in the blue camp, with President Biden prevailing over Trump by a solid ten points in 2020. However, the political landscape is changing. Democrats have historically viewed Virginia as a safe bet—like a financial analyst who swears by that “high-performing” tech company that just reported earnings like a lead balloon. Now, with Governor Glenn Youngkin maintaining a sky-high approval rating of 57 percent, it seems Republicans are no longer relegated to the sidelines of Virginian politics.
Youngkin’s popularity is particularly noteworthy given that he was elected under the banner of conservatism and has made moves to solidify election integrity in the state. His administration is stepping up the monitoring of everything from address changes to obituaries, ensuring that the voter rolls are as clean as a whistle. It’s almost as if Youngkin is bringing the rigor of a corporate audit to the realm of voting—who would have thought that was possible?
As Harris clings to her precarious lead, it raises the question of whether the Democrats’ years of relative comfort in Virginia are coming to an end. Could it be that the Democrats are facing a storm that they didn’t see coming? With Youngkin at the steering wheel, the Republican Party may yet give the Democratic stronghold a run for its money, making the next election in Virginia one to watch closely. The stage is set for a showdown that could reshape the narrative in a state that was once considered a Democratic fortress.
