Over half of Virginia’s voters approve of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the direction in which he has taken the commonwealth, and many more back his proposal to return some of Richmond’s $14 billion surplus to taxpayers.
In a new McLaughlin & Associates survey, voters approve of Youngkin by a 51% to 39% margin. Some 38% “strongly” approve of the Republican and former businessman.
And, found McLaughlin, they like what he’s done for Virginia so far compared to the rest of the country.
By a slim 45% to 43% margin, voters believe that Virginia is going in the right direction. But when asked about the rest of the country, 60% chose “wrong track.”
That’s likely because Virginia voters are not as high on President Joe Biden, even though the state went for him in the 2020 election. His job approval rating in the commonwealth is 46%, compared to 52% who don’t approve.
The survey showed support for Youngkin on two of his key issues.
During the campaign last year, he proposed taking some of the massive budget surplus and sending checks to citizens, as well as adding to the budgets for teachers and law enforcement. He is facing some pushback from Democrats who want it spent on government programs.
The survey found that voters chose Youngkin’s plan to return about a third with the rest to police and education by a 68%-26% margin.
They also like what he has done so far on educational issues, notably his order on mask mandates in schools. By a 50%-40% margin, Virginians approved of his education initiatives.
The survey also looked at how Virginians viewed healthcare and health spending and found that they support spending for healthcare workers and want more transparency in the health insurance industry.
