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Poll: Obama leading Romney in VA

Posted at 1:35 PM, Aug 08, 2012
and last updated 2012-08-08 13:35:28-04

RICHMOND, Va (WTVR) – A new poll released today finds President Barack Obama has regained a slight lead over Former Governor Mitt Romney in Virginia, 49 percent to 45 percent. A similar poll released just a month ago had the two candidates locked in a dead heat at 45 percent.

The Quinnipiac University poll surveyed nearly 1500 registered voters in three key swing states in the upcoming election: Wisconsin, Colorado and Virginia.

The poll also found that for Virginia voters, the economy remains the economy remains the key topic in this election. 49 percent list it as the most important issue, while 19 percent named health care as their top concern, and ten percent point to the budget deficit.

When it comes to handling the economy, Virginians think Romney would do a better job. 47 percent of voters said he would handle the nation’s finances better than Obama. 45% picked Obama over Romney.

Presidential candidates should release several years of tax returns, 52 percent of voters say; 19 percent want to see one or two years of returns and 23 percent say keep returns private.

The poll also surveyed who Virginians will vote for in the highly publicized race for Jim Webb’s U.S. senate seat.

The race is too close to call in this case. 48 percent of voters support Democrat Tim Kaine, and 46 percent support Republican George Allen. The difference between the two remains less than the poll’s margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent.

The poll also gauged how Virginians feel about the state’s gun laws in the wake of tragic mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado and inside a Sikh Mosque in Wisconsin. Most felt changing gun laws would not help prevent future tragedies.

Watch Rob Cardwell’s full report on that portion of the poll.