With polls tied, this is a good time to contribute any small amount to the Democratic Party of Virginia. Perhaps more than ever, we want to turn Virginia blue. The article below is .


A new poll shows Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph S. Northam tied in the November race for governor, a significant improvement for Gillespie over a poll last month showing him trailing Northam by 8 points.

They each have support from 44 percent of Virginia voters, with Libertarian Cliff Hyra at 3 percent and another 9 percent undecided, according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday. A Quinnipiac University poll in June had Northam up by 8. (Link to Monmouth poll)

Monmouth University’s Polling Institute also found that low approval ratings for President Donald Trump may be hurting Gillespie, because if Trump were not a factor some Northam voters would swing to undecided.

“A small but crucial portion of Northam’s support is coming from voters who are primarily anti-Trump,” Patrick Murray, director of the polling institute, said in a press release. “Unless one of the candidates breaks out with a clear advantage on Virginia-centric issues, the president could wind up as a decisive factor in the outcome.”

Voters said health care was the top issue they wanted Northam and Gillespie to address.

Republicans were elated by the poll and said it countered the idea that the GOP had not rallied around Gillespie after he scored a narrow primary victory over Corey Stewart, who had ridiculed him ahead of the June vote.

For Democrats, the poll was sobering.

The poll’s margin of error is 4.4 percent.