Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) holds an early double-digit lead over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) ahead of Virginia’s governors race in November, according to a new poll.
Thirty-nine percent of registered voters surveyed in a Roanoke College poll released Tuesday said they backed Spanberger for governor while 24 percent said they supported Earle-Sears. Four percent said they would vote for someone else.
But in an indication of how much could change ahead of November’s election, 32 percent of registered voters said they were still undecided.
A previous poll from Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy released in January showed Earle-Sears trailing Spanberger by a more narrow margin, 47 to 44 percent. Nine percent in that poll said they were undecided.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss up.
Spanberger and Earle-Sears still need to go their respective parties’ primaries, but are considered the leading Democratic and Republican contenders.
Former Virginia Del. Dave LaRock (R) is said to be mounting a primary challenge to Sears, while Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) has been floated as a potential Democratic contender. However there is no indication that Scott has decided to enter the race.
The Roanoke College poll was conducted Feb. 17-20 among 690 Virginia residents. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.66 percent.
