Analyst says Harris, Kaine remain favorites in Va. one week from election
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- With the 2024 presidential election entering its final days, Vice President Kamala Harris maintained a six-point lead over former President Donald Trump in Virginia, according to the latest Washington Post-Schar School poll. “It may not be as big a victory for Kamala Harris as it was for Joe Biden in 2020, where he carried the state by something like ten percentage points, but it still looks like Harris should be able to win Virginia fairly comfortably,” Randolph-Macon Political Science Professor Rich Meagher told 8News. Despite Meagher saying that Harris is likely to win Virginia, Trump does plan to visit the state on Saturday for a rally in Salem. Meagher said that is likely to try and bring national attention to the ongoing fight in Virginia over the state’s process for removing suspected non-citizens from the voter rolls. Last week, a federal judge ruled the process, which has also removed eligible voters, is likely to violate federal law. “It’s almost like Trump’s visit to Virginia is not about the election itself, but what happens after the election," said Meagher. Meanwhile, in the race for Virginia's U.S. Senate seat, the same Washington Post-Schar School poll found that Democratic Incumbent Senator Tim Kaine holds a 13-point lead over Republican challenger Hung Cao. “That doesn’t mean that miracles can't happen or that Cao couldn’t win somehow, but it just seems really unlikely at this point, because he was such a red meat, rock solid, almost red-blooded conservative who was willing to say conservative things, but that means there is little he can do now to get moderates over to his side,” said Meagher. Early voting ends on Nov. 2 with Election Day on Nov. 5.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- With the 2024 presidential election entering its final days, Vice President Kamala Harris maintained a six-point lead over former President Donald Trump in Virginia, according to the latest Washington Post-Schar School poll.
“It may not be as big a victory for Kamala Harris as it was for Joe Biden in 2020, where he carried the state by something like ten percentage points, but it still looks like Harris should be able to win Virginia fairly comfortably,” Randolph-Macon Political Science Professor Rich Meagher told 8News.
Despite Meagher saying that Harris is likely to win Virginia, Trump does plan to visit the state on Saturday for a rally in Salem. Meagher said that is likely to try and bring national attention to the ongoing fight in Virginia over the state’s process for removing suspected non-citizens from the voter rolls. Last week, a federal judge ruled the process, which has also removed eligible voters, is likely to violate federal law.
“It’s almost like Trump’s visit to Virginia is not about the election itself, but what happens after the election," said Meagher.
Meanwhile, in the race for Virginia's U.S. Senate seat, the same Washington Post-Schar School poll found that Democratic Incumbent Senator Tim Kaine holds a 13-point lead over Republican challenger Hung Cao.
“That doesn’t mean that miracles can't happen or that Cao couldn’t win somehow, but it just seems really unlikely at this point, because he was such a red meat, rock solid, almost red-blooded conservative who was willing to say conservative things, but that means there is little he can do now to get moderates over to his side,” said Meagher.
Early voting ends on Nov. 2 with Election Day on Nov. 5.
