After almost five months on the job, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is more popular in the commonwealth than President Biden.
A new survey by the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research (IPOR) at Roanoke College found that Mr. Youngkin’s approval rating increased to 53% from 50% in February. His disapproval rating came down to 35% from 41% in February.
While more Democrats approve of Mr. Youngkin’s job performance now than they did three months ago, up to 41% from 30%, his job approval ticked down among Republicans to 75% from 84% approval in February.
Mr. Biden did not fare as well in the IPOR poll.
Approval of the president’s job spiraled downward to 37%, down from its previous low of 41% in February. That dip is among all Virginians surveyed irrespective of political party affiliation.
About 38% of Virginians have a favorable impression of Mr. Biden, compared to the 56% who view him unfavorably.
Roughly 46% of Virginians held a favorable impression of Mr. Youngkin, with just 37% having an unfavorable view.
Mr. Youngkin, a Republican who delivered an upset to Democrats when he defeated former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe last year, came into office as a political newcomer from the business world.
He topped the Republican Party of Virginia’s successful electoral sweep of the ballot that also captured the lieutenant governor’s election and majority in the House of Delegates.
Virginia Republicans now see an opportunity to pick up congressional seats in November and win back the majority in the state Senate, which Democrats hold by a slim majority.
While Mr. Biden’s numbers are suffering in contrast to Mr. Youngkin’s, Virginians also have not warmed up to former President Donald Trump since he left the White House. Mr. Trump’s numbers nearly match Mr. Biden’s in Virginia with a 34% favorable and 59% unfavorable rating.
The pollsters at Roanoke College interviewed 648 adult residents of Virginia between May 15 and May 26. The survey has a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.