Governor Glenn Youngkin hit 49 percent job approval and 38 percent disapproval in a new poll from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The poll included questions focused on key budget policy debates, and reports 58 percent support a three-month gas tax suspension.
“The responses in the poll suggest what I have always stated: The people are always ahead of the leaders,” former Governor Doug Wilder said in a press release. “The grocery tax proposal is very receptive; gas tax suspension and/or stipend is greeted positively, which can be viewed as a direct response to rising inflation.”
VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs conducted the poll among 813 Virginia adults from June 29 through July 9, and has a margin of error of 5.81 percent.
The poll results are a bit less positive for Youngkin than the 53 percent approval, 35 percent disapproval Youngkin had among registered Virginia voters in a Morning Consult poll reported earlier in July. That poll was a broader look at governors across the U.S., and was conducted among at least 431 registered voters from a given governor’s state on April 1 through June 30.
“Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, two potential presidential prospects in 2024, both hold 53 percent approval ratings, though the Floridian’s standing has dropped slightly (from 56 percent) in the previous quarter,” Morning Consult summarized.
In the recent General Assembly session, legislators blocked Youngkin’s effort to institute a three-month gas tax, and repealed the state share of the grocery tax, leaving a local component in place. They also approved a one-time tax rebate: $250 for single-filers and $500 for joint filers. The VCU poll found some bipartisan support for all those proposals, with 49 percent of Democrats supporting the gas tax suspension, and 60 percent supporting the partial grocery tax suspension, with large numbers of Republicans supporting both proposals.
The VCU poll also asked if Virginians preferred using surplus tax revenue on government programs like welfare or clean energy, or on a tax rebate. The poll showed that 47 percent preferred using it on government programs, and 42 percent preferred the $250 one-time rebate.
“The majority of Democrats and Independents prefer the option to use the tax revenue surplus for government programs, while Republicans favor the $250 rebate option; whereas Black respondents favor the $250 rebate and white respondents prefer the government programs,” Wilder said.
56 percent of respondents supported lab school partnerships with colleges, an initiative that received bipartisan support in the General Assembly. 79 percent of Virginians supported increasing funds for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including 94 percent support from Democrats and 69 percent support from Republicans. Wilder said that should help Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares, who have pushed to expand HBCU funding.
“Not surprising, but most appreciated, is the overwhelming public approval and support for increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities; this should increase support in the General Assembly, especially with the attorney general’s recent opinion that removed long manufactured legal
constraints to proper and deserved funding for Virginia’s HBCUs,” Wilder said.
During the 2021 gubernatorial election, Wilder seemed to support Youngkin. Since then, the former Democratic governor has continued to be a Youngkin ally, including making an appearance at a Youngkin press conference where the administration made its pitch for changes in Virginia education. Youngkin has pushed for school choice, and the recent lab schools legislation was a partial win for the governor.
“Over half of poll respondents support lab schools, indicating Virginians are looking for alternative educational options to what is currently being provided,” Wilder said in the release.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin.Â
