Poll: Youngkin Edges Out McAuliffe, Voters Trust the Republican More on Education, Coronavirus

Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin is leading Democrat challenger Terry McAuliffe in the final days of Virginia’s gubernatorial election, an Echelon Insights survey released Friday found.

The survey, taken October 27-29, 2021, among 611 of the “likely electorate” in Virginia, showed Youngkin edging out McAuliffe in the governor’s race, 49 percent to 46 percent. Of the 49 percent who said they will “definitely” or “probably” vote for Youngkin, 46 percent said they “definitely” will vote for the Republican, whereas 39 percent said they will “definitely” vote for McAuliffe. Four percent remain unsure:

When asked to choose the top issue in Virginia, 23 percent said “jobs and the economy,” followed by 19 percent who said the coronavirus pandemic, 19 percent who said the cost of living, and 15 percent who said education. Fifty percent said they trust Youngkin to handle education as governor, compared to 44 percent who said the same for the Democrat. 

Additionally, Youngkin edges out McAuliffe in trust on the coronavirus pandemic, 47 percent to 46 percent. 

Overall, 88 percent said they are either “extremely” or “very” motivated to vote in the gubernatorial race. 

The survey follows the recent trends of the race tightening in the final stretch, giving Youngkin a slight edge days before Election Day.

Saturday’s RealClearPolitics average showed Youngkin leading McAuliffe by 0.6 percent.

However, speaking to Breitbart News Saturday, Youngkin made it clear that “polls don’t win elections.”

“Votes do,” he said, noting the “enormous” amount of enthusiasm he has witnessed in the final stretch of the race and ultimately predicting a victory.

“This is why Terry McAuliffe is panicking,” he said, speaking of the unity he is seeing across the board and describing his Democrat opponent as the “Godfather of [the] modern day progressive Democratic Party.”

“And he’s seeing it all fail. He’s seeing it crash down on him because Virginians are rejecting it,” Youngkin said.

LISTEN: