RICHMOND, Va. — If the Virginia presidential primary were held this Tuesday, instead of Super Tuesday (March 1), Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton would come out on top, according to a newly released poll of Virginia voters by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.
The poll found Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had 28 percent of Virginia’s Republican vote. He was followed by Sen. Marco Rubio with 22 percent, Sen. Ted Cruz with 19 percent, Ben Carson and Gov. John Kasich with seven percent, and Jeb Bush at four percent.
While Trump had the most support among likely Republican voters, overall his 64 percent unfavorable rating was the highest among all candidates.
“Almost all the voters have an opinion about Donald Trump, and twice as many see him in an unfavorable light as view him favorably,” Dr. Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center, said. “Even so, among likely Republican voters, he’s still winning the horse race.”
Donald Trump speaks at Liberty University
Trump’s favorable rating was 30 percent, according to the poll. Rubio’s favorable rating, 44 percent, was the highest of any candidate.
More than half of voters who said they were likely to vote in the Democratic primary, also said they supported Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s 52 percent support put her ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had 40 percent support, according to the poll.
Much like with the Republicans, Sanders was viewed more favorably (39 percent to 33 percent) among Virginia voters than Clinton. Hillary Clinton’s unfavorable rating was 59 percent. Sanders came in at 50 percent.
Hillary Clinton speaks in front of a crowd of supporters after the 2016 Iowa Caucus.
“Virginia Democrats continue to be hesitant on Clinton,” Kidd said. “However, she maintains a solid lead over Sanders in the primary, with only a small percentage of undecided voters left.”
Both Republicans and Democrats hold their 2016 presidential primaries in Virginia on March 1.
