In less than two weeks, Virginians will be casting their votes in the state’s 2016 presidential
primaries.
In less than two weeks, Virginians will be casting their votes in the state’s 2016 presidential
primaries.
The 2016 field has been anything but predictable, with Donald Trump in particular seemingly immune to everything but gravity. Iowa, the first contest of 2016, put doubt in the polls,
with frontrunner Trump coming up short. New Hampshire also shook things up, with one-time
longshot Bernie Sanders besting Clinton.
If Trump still had doubters, Saturday’s voting in North Carolina made them believe. As of now, Virginia is Trump’s to lose. Who do Virginians favor?
“As of right now, I am supporting Bernie Sanders,” said Josh Schneider, a 25-year-old journalism
student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Schneider is supporting Sanders because of his consistency.
“Bernie seems to be consistent across the board in all his views,” he said.
Indeed, film footage circulating online from the late nineties reveals him holding virtually identical views to his current policies. For Schneider, Hillary’s “evolving” views have cast doubt on her trustworthiness.
“She seems to be one who relies on polls before stating her views,” he said.
Also supporting Sanders is 22-year-old Daniel Rattner, a business owner and musician studying at VCU.
“I grew up in Vermont and he did a great job there,” Rattner said. “He’s the only politician that I actually trust and has a track record for standing up for the lower and middle class, so it is not just empty promises.”
But where do Virginians stand on the Republican field?
“Trump frightens me more than any candidate other than Hillary,” said Tim Black, an officer in the U.S. Army. citing Trump’s comments on Muslims and general fear stoking. Black is open to any
Republican candidate other than Trump.
“He needs to be removed,” Black said. “He is a hate monger.”
The latest poll of likely Virginia voters shows largely how Black, Schneider, and Rattner feel.
According the CNU Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy’s most recent poll of the 2016 presidential candidates in Virginia, Trump has the highest unfavorable rating among all candidates.
On the blue side, 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.
However, just like for the Republicans, Sanders was viewed more favorably (39 percent to 33 percent) among Virginia voters than perceived frontrunner Clinton. Hillary Clinton’s unfavorable rating was 59 percent.
Sanders came in at 50 percent. The poll has Clinton and Trump coming out on top. As Iowa and New Hampshire prove though, the polls are not perfect.
“Although the polls show Donald Trump winning in Virginia, I think that there is a real chance that Rubio could pull through to win in our Commonwealth,” said Samantha Sedivy, a student at the University of Richmond School of Law and the chairwoman of the Greater Richmond Young Republicans.
She points to Rubio’s high favorability rating (the highest among candidates at 44%)
“It is a hard task however to square these numbers with the results of North Carolina,” she said.
Trump even took evangelicals, a group Cruz had bet everything on. The question then is, does “favorability” even matter?
In just a few months, Sanders has gone from longshot to contender. While Iowa showed that Trump is mortal, North Carolina showed that he’s serious.
Virginia is voting this coming Tuesday, March 1st, “Super Tuesday,” when the greatest number of states hold primary elections.
Will Virginia be a game changer? As the past month has shown, anyhing can happen.
