ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – In Virginia, Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump in the Decision Desk HQ poll by 5%.
However, polling is a hot topic after pollsters under-polled Trump in the last two presidential elections.
“There’s more discussion of it this time compared to the last two presidential elections where there were apparent problems, especially with the polling on Mr. Trump, the so-called shy Trump voters that were not responding,” said Dr. Karen Hult, Virginia Tech professor of political science.
She says this time around, Harris may be the one who’s under-polled.
“She’s a new candidate to the mix and wasn’t expected to be in the election to begin with,” she said.
However, Trump, along with several big Virginia GOP names, claimed the Commonwealth is still in play at a rally in Salem on Saturday.
Liberty University Associate Professor Aaron S. Van Allen says the rally likely motivated Trump’s base, but maybe not enough.
“The fact that early in-person and mail-in ballots are lagging behind that of 2020 is one that doesn’t work well for him,” he said.