President Barack Obama has an eight-point lead in Virginia over Mitt Romney, according to a Roanoke College poll released Tuesday.
According to the poll, Obama leads Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, 47 percent to 39 percent.
Obama and Romney have their first presidential debate Wednesday night. Virginia has been a battleground state for both candidates. Thirteen electoral votes are at stake.
In the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Virginia, Democrat Tim Kaine has a 10-point lead (47% to 37%) over Republican George Allen, according to the poll.
The Roanoke College poll interviewed 589 likely voters in Virginia between Sept. 19 and Sept. 28. The poll has a margin of error of four percent.
Ten percent of potential voters in the presidential race say they are undecided on who they will vote for.
In Virginia Obama’s base is from women (51% to 34%), Democrats (94% to 1%), and voters ages 18 to 34 (62% to 20%).
According to the Roanoke College poll Romney is statistically tied among men (45% to 42%), and holds comfortable margins among Republicans (88% to 2%) and voters 65 and older (47% to 40%).
“There is very little good news for the Romney campaign in these results,” Harry Wilson, director of the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research wrote in a news release. “Entering the first of three Presidential debates Governor Romney has his work cut out for him, but the election is far from over. He can hope that the undecided voters are looking for a reason not to vote for the President and that he can offer it to them in the debates.”
In the U.S. Senate race Kaine leads among women (52% to 30%), and he is statistically tied among men, trailing Allen by four percent (45% to 41%).
Kaine and Allen are statistically tied among White voters (Allen leads 43% to 40%), but Kaine holds a large lead among black voters (77% to 7%).
Additionally, Kaine holds leads in every region in the state except the Shenandoah Valley, which is statistically tied.
To read the full news release, click here.
