WASHINGTON — Today, American Principles Project (APP) and SPRY Strategies released a new poll of likely Virginia voters showing Democrat gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe with a narrow five-point lead over Republican Glenn Youngkin, 46 percent to 41 percent. Ten percent of voters remain undecided.

The survey also asked voters for their views on several hot button issues roiling school districts across the country, such as Critical Race Theory and policies allowing biological boys to compete in girls’ sports. Some notable results include:

• 58% of voters oppose Critical Race Theory being taught in Virginia schools, while only 26% support it.
• 57% of voters disapprove of polices allowing biological males to compete in girls’ K-12 athletics, while only 23% approve.
• 44% of voters believe Virginia schools should be fully open in the fall without mask mandates, while 29% believe they should be fully open with mask mandates.
• 52% of voters do not believe school students are getting their money’s worth out of Virginia’s public education system, while only 21% do believe this.

APP President Terry Schilling released the following statement responding to the results:

“Many political observers are already carefully watching Virginia as a bellwether for next year’s midterms, and judging from this poll, Republicans should be cautiously excited. Despite Democrats’ recent dominance in the state, Glenn Youngkin looks to be very competitive, thanks to widespread disapproval with the radical left-wing agenda being pushed by President Biden on down.

“Cultural issues like Critical Race Theory and girls’ sports could be especially important in deciding the race. Our polling shows that Virginians strongly oppose both CRT and leftist gender ideology, and they are unhappy with the state of public education generally in the commonwealth. Youngkin and Republicans would be smart to continue featuring these issues front and center in the campaign.”

METHODOLOGY: Polling was conducted in Virginia using a blend of IVR Landline and Online Mobile Interviews from July 6 to July 9 among a random sample of 600 likely voters. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

To schedule an engagement with American Principles Project, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or pdupont@americanprinciplesproject.org.