By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – The last stretch of the sprint towards Tuesday’s election day will see candidates crisscross across the commonwealth as some races are getting closer.
The race has not been without its share of drama, with the latest happening Thursday afternoon when Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign bus caught fire while en route to a campaign event. The gubernatorial hopeful reassured the public that there were no injuries.
In addition to the fire, Earle-Sears’ campaign hit a snag this week as Democrats called for a special session regarding a redistricting proposal. In her capacity as lieutenant governor, she was forced to return to Richmond to oversee the Senate.
The fire doesn’t appear to be slowing down the Republican, as she is scheduled to hold seven events across the commonwealth between now and Tuesday, Election Day.
The latest poll, conducted by Trafalgar/InsiderAdvantage, shows Earle-Sears trailing Democrat Abigail Spanberger by four points (46-42%). A survey conducted between Oct. 22 and 27 by Roanoke College shows a larger gap between the two candidates, with Spanberger leading by 10 points (51-41%).
A RealClear Politics Polling roundup average shows Spanberger with a 7.4% lead over Earle-Sears (50.3% to 42.9%) heading into the election.
Spanberger is set to receive a boost on the campaign trail as former President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign on behalf of the Democrat in Norfolk on Saturday.
While Trump has not formally endorsed Earle-Sears, he urged voters to cast their votes for the Republican, hoping the lieutenant governor will succeed in the race.
The president has endorsed Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is seeking a second term. Polls are showing Miyares pulling ahead of challenger Jay Jones, whose campaign has been marred by scandal following the leak of text messages from 2022, in which he made comments about a Republican colleague’s family, as previously reported by The Center Square.
The scandal has drawn national attention, outrage and calls for Jones to drop out of the race. However, Democrats, including Spanberger and Virginia Democrats, continue to stand by his candidacy.
The text message leak appears to have taken a hit on Jones as Miyares continues to lead in all the recent polls.
The Trafalgar/InsiderAdvantage shows Miyares leading Democrat Jones by eight points (46-38%). The poll by Roanoke College, however, shows a tighter race between the two candidates, with Miyares leading by only one point (46% to 45%).
A RealClear Politics Polling average of the polls shows Miyares with a 3.8% lead over Jones (46.7% to 42.9%) heading into the election.
The race for lieutenant governor, which has garnered far less attention than the other two races, also shows the candidates neck and neck, with Democrat Sen. Ghazala Hashmi leading Republican John by only two points (42-40%), according to the Roanoke College poll.
The final day for early voting is Saturday, Nov. 1. It began Sept. 19.