A new poll shows former President Trump leading President Biden in Virginia by three percentage points as Republicans look to flip the state after Biden defeated Trump by 10 points in the Old Dominion State in 2020. Virginia has voted Democratic in every presidential election since President Barack Obama's first campaign for the White House in 2008.
The new Virginia Commonwealth University-Wilder School poll, released by the Washington Post, shows Biden falling from the 42% support he enjoyed in the last VCU-Wilder poll, released in January, to 36%.
Trump remained unchanged at 39%, and the poll suggests a drop in support for Biden, rather than substantial gains for Trump.
TRUMP AND YOUNGKIN MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME AS THE GOP WANTS TO WIN IN VIRGINIA IN NOVEMBER
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and former President Trump met ahead of the 2024 election. (Trump campaign)
Still, the poll bodes well for the Trump campaign and raises further concerns for the Biden camp, which has been fighting calls from within his own party for the president to drop out of the race following his disastrous performance in the June 27 debate. The VCU-Wilder poll was conducted between June 24 and July 3, so some of the polling was done in the wake of that debate.
Biden's job approval stood at 36% in the poll, while 58% disapproved. Respondents ranked the “rising cost of living” as the top issue in the race, followed by women's reproductive rights and immigration.
The 46th president continues to lose support in the black community. 46% said they would vote for Biden, compared to 67% in the last VCU-Wilder poll, while 13.7% said they would vote for Trump.
The VCU-Wilder poll consisted of telephone interviews with 809 Virginia adults ages 18 and older, with about a third conducted via landlines and the rest via cellphones, the Post reports. It has a margin of error of 4.8 points.
Virginia, home to many of those who work in neighboring Washington, DC, has not been considered a swing state in the 2024 election, but recent polls indicate it could prove to be a closer race than expected.
A Fox News poll released in June shows Trump and Biden each at 48% support in a tied matchup in the Old Dominion State. However, a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in Virginia from July 9-12 showed Biden leading Trump by three percentage points (48 to 45) among likely voters.
FOX NEWS POLL: BIDEN AND TRUMP ARE TIED IN VIRGINIA
President Biden, right, and former President Trump faced off in their high-stakes 2024 election debate rematch in late June. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Virginia's Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, has previously said Virginia is “in play” and could deliver a victory for Trump in November.
“I think Virginia is up for grabs. Remember, Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points in 2020. I ended up winning it by two the following year. What we've shown is that common-sense conservative policies work, and Virginians appreciate that,” Youngkin said in an interview with radio host and Fox News contributor Guy Benson in May.
The governor reiterated those comments in an interview with Fox News Digital in June.
In 2020, Biden won the state by 10 points over Trump. During the 2016 election, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran against Trump, the Democratic Party also claimed victory in Virginia, with Clinton taking 49.8% of the vote to Trump's 44.4%.
Youngkin won the governorship in 2021, thanks in part to Trump's endorsement.
However, the VCU-Wilder poll found that Youngkin's approval rating among Virginians dropped from 54% in January to 50% in the new poll, while his disapproval rating rose from 36% to 39%.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Former President Trump arrives at Trump Tower on May 30, 2024. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
Meanwhile, Virginians support incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, over his Republican challenger Hung Cao, 49 percent to 38 percent.
The poll also found that 53% of Virginia voters said they were less likely to vote for Trump because of his conviction in New York on 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
Another 31% said they were more likely to vote for him after the convictions. Among independents, 45% said the convictions made them less likely to support Trump, while 25% said they were more likely.
Fox News' Emma Colton, Paul Steinhauser and Matthew Reidy contributed to this report.
