Youngkin Surges Past McAuliffe Ahead of Virginia Election, Polling Averages Show

Republican Glenn Youngkin has seen a surge in the polls just ahead of Tuesday's gubernatorial election in Virginia.

Polling averages compiled by FiveThirtyEight showed Democrat Terry McAuliffe with a sizable advantage for much of the race. But within the past few weeks, Youngkin has seen his support grow significantly among likely and registered voters.

As of Monday morning, Youngkin was ahead of McAuliffe by an average of 1 point. Approximately 47.7 percent of those surveyed said Youngkin was ahead in the governor's race compared with 46.7 percent who saw McAuliffe as the leader.

Youngkin officially surpassed McAuliffe in FiveThirtyEight's tracker just last week.

Virginians will head to the ballot box on Tuesday to decide who will lead their state next year.

Youngkin, 54, was formerly the co-chief executive of the private equity firm Carlyle Group. He's received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who called Youngkin "pro-business, pro-Second Amendment, pro-Veterans [and] pro-America."

While Youngkin has said he's "honored" to have received Trump's endorsement, the Republican has not campaigned alongside the former president. Youngkin also said he won't be engaging in Trump's tele-rally being held Monday night.

"This is a moment for us," Youngkin said at an event on Saturday. "We are going to send a shockwave across this country. And there's not going to be a Democrat in any state, anywhere in this nation, who's going to think his or her seat is safe."

McAuliffe, 64, is running for the office he previously held from 2014 to 2018. Virginia law doesn't allow governors to serve consecutive terms.

"I've done this job before. I was the most pro-business pro-progressive," McAuliffe told supporters over the weekend. "I made this state open and welcoming, created a lot of jobs. We do not want to go back."

Both parties are closely following the governor's race before next year's midterm elections, when control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are up for grabs.

Republicans haven't won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009. President Joe Biden won the state by 10 percentage points against Trump in the 2020 election, making McAuliffe the assumed frontrunner for governor.

But with Youngkin surging in these final weeks, Republicans have said they are optimistic about their chances on Tuesday.

"If my base turns out, he's going to win," Trump told Fox News on Sunday, "I hope they turn out, I really want them to turn out."

McAuliffe dismissed the tightening polls ahead of Tuesday while campaigning over the weekend.

"From my perspective, the polls haven't changed at all — apparently 1 to 3 [points]," he said, according to The Washington Post. "This has been going on now for a long time. It hasn't really changed; there hasn't been any movement."