Harris edges out Trump by 2 points in Virginia survey

A new poll finds Vice President Harris beating former President Trump by 2 points in Virginia.

The survey, conducted by the University of Mary Washington, found that in a two-way race, 48 percent favored Harris compared to Trump’s 46 percent, within the poll’s margin of error.

“This new survey suggests Virginia should be getting a much closer look from both presidential campaigns,” Stephen J. Farnsworth, director of the university’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, said in a statement. “Virginia may deserve to be treated as a ‘swing state’ once again this year.”

The survey was conducted before the first presidential debate, which was widely seen as a win for Harris.

Virginians said the economy, jobs and inflation were their top concerns, while the state of democracy also ranked high.

Formerly a Republican stronghold, Virginia has seen recent Democratic strength and is now considered a moderately blue state. President Biden won the state with 54.1 percent of the vote, but a year later, the state elected Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Harris has a 90 percent chance of winning Virginia, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s aggregation of polls.

Early voting in Virginia began Friday.

The survey was conducted Sept. 3-9 among 1,000 Virginia residents. The margin of error is 3 points.