Incumbent Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va., trails state Sen. Robert Hurt by 6 percentage points, according to a poll recently conducted by The Institute for Policy and Opinion Research at Roanoke College.
The poll shows Hurt with a 46-40 lead with 13 percent still undecided just two weeks before the election.
“These results suggest that it will be very difficult for Rep. Perriello to retain his seat,” said Harry Wilson, director of the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research. “Perriello has to hope for a very large turnout among the core Democratic voters as well as the so-called ‘Obama voters.’ That said, the race is certainly not yet over.”
Polling in the sprawling 5th District, which stretches from above Charlottesville to the North Carolina border, has varied wildly this cycle, with Hurt leading from anywhere between 1 and 26 percentage points since Sepetember.
The poll, conducted between Oct. 5 and 14, has a margin of error of 4.1 percent.
View the entire poll here.
