NEWPORT NEWS, VA, Monday, Oct. 27 — A new Wason Center of Christopher Newport University survey of Virginia likely voters shows tightening races across the statewide contests as Election Day is right around the corner.

Governor: Abigail Spanberger leads Winsome Earle-Sears by 7 points, 50% to 43%.

Lieutenant Governor: Ghazala Hashmi leads John Reid by 2 points, 47% to 45%.

Attorney General: Incumbent Jason Miyares now leads Jay Jones by 1 point, 46% to 45%, following reports of a 2022 text messaging scandal involving Jones.

In the House of Delegates generic ballot, the Democratic Party’s candidate leads the Republican Party’s candidate by 8 points, 51% to 43%.

Top issues for voters include threats to democracy (18%), inflation (18%), healthcare (11%), and immigration (9%).

Voter enthusiasm remains high, with 85% of likely voters saying they are very (56%) or somewhat (29%) enthusiastic about voting.

Early voting is well underway, with 29% of the likely voters we surveyed indicating they have already voted in the Virginia elections with some variation by partisanship; 34% of Republicans say they have already voted compared to 23% of Independents and 30% of Democrats.

Recent news reports of text messages sent by Jay Jones in 2022 have dramatically changed the context of the Virginia elections, with 75% of likely voters saying they have heard some or a lot about them. Among those who have, 47% say the issue is at least somewhat likely to affect their vote choice for attorney general.