Polling released on Thursday revealed the majority of Virginia voters continue to approve of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) despite Republicans failing to hold the House of Delegates or capture the Virginia Senate last November.
The Mason-Dixon poll found 58 percent of Virginia voters approve of Youngkin’s job performance as governor, compared to 37 percent who disapprove. Just 5 percent of respondents said they are not sure about their opinion of Youngkin.
Virginians’ approval of Youngkin’s work as governor has remained relatively unchanged since January 2023, when the pollsters found 56 percent of Virginians supported the governor. However, the number of voters who were unsure of their opinion about Youngkin decreased, and his disapproval climbed from 31 percent in January to 37 percent in December.
Approval of Youngkin was lowest in Northern Virginia, where 48 percent approved and 46 percent disapproved of his job performance. The governor fared better in Hampton Roads, where 52 percent of respondents reported approval and 42 percent disapproved.
Youngkin’s approval was highest in Roanoke and southwest Virginia, where 73 percent approved and just 24 percent disapproved of his work as governor. Central Virginia and Shenandoah also reported high approval for Youngkin, with 67 percent expressing approval and 27 percent disapproval.
The survey found Youngkin has near-universal support from Virginia Republicans, with 96 percent telling pollsters they approve of his job performance. Only 3 percent of Virginia Republicans contacted by pollsters said they disapprove of Youngkin’s work as governor.
Youngkin also has the approval of 56 percent of independent voters in Virginia, compared to 38 percent who disapprove.
The Republican governor scored lowest among Democrats. Twenty-eight percent of Virginia Democrats said they approve of Youngkin’s work as governor, while 65 percent said they disapprove.
The pollsters surveyed 625 registered Virginia voters between December 15, 2023, and December 19, 2023, and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Youngkin’s steady approval comes despite the influential Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) crediting the Virginia Republicans’ recent electoral defeats to the media’s focus on the governor’s “presidential ambitions.” In a memo, the DLCC claimed Youngkin’s alleged posturing for a presidential run, combined with the Democrats’ fierce, pro-abortion messaging, contributed to a “winning formula for the DLCC and Democratic candidates.”
The organization argued in the memo, “while national media pundits focused on Governor Youngkin and his presidential ambitions,” Democrats made the election “about state power and the future” of abortion by sounding “the alarm on the national stage about the stakes of the election” and the possibility that Youngkin and Republicans could have banned abortion.
Though approval for Youngkin remained steady over 2023, a November poll of possible presidential candidates found little interest from Virginia Republicans in a possible presidential bid from the governor.
That poll found 51 percent of Virginia Republicans backed former President Donald Trump for the nomination, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in second with 14 percent of support. Youngkin was tied with Nikki Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, at 10 percent.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Governor of Virginia.
