A poll from Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs shows that the state's governor is in a good position heading into 2024.
Glenn Youngkin would come on top in a head-to-head matchup with President Joe Biden in Virginia, a Democrat-leaning swing state, if he decides to join the crowded Republican presidential primaries.
He leads Biden 44% to 37% in the hypothetical matchup. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump would lose the state to Biden with 40% to the president's 43%.
The poll obtained telephone interviews from July 14-25, 2023, with a representative sample of 804 adults living in Virginia. It has a margin of error of 5.46 percentage points.
It comes in the wake of Youngkin declining to a Wall Street Journal reporter in May that he would seek the White House. He appears to have continued to flirt with the idea, though, posting a campaign-style X (formerly Twitter) video later the same month.
But calls for Youngkin to run have picked up new steam in some donor circles due to Trump's primary challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, crashing in the polls since February.
USA Today reported last week that some Republican megadonors are already encouraging the jump from DeSantis to Youngkin. Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy recently told Fox Business he was one of them.
"I very much hope that he's going to enter the race," Peterffy said of Youngkin. "People I speak to are all favorably inclined towards him. If he entered, I think there would be tremendous enthusiasm."
However, many individuals and organizations are still standing firm behind DeSantis.
Never Back Down PAC head Ken Cuccinelli told Newsmax guest host Matt Gaetz that his group would stay loyal to the Florida governor amid reports that DeSantis was radically downsizing his campaign.
"We're committed solely to electing Ron DeSantis for president," Cuccinelli, a former Trump administration official, told the Republican congressman from Florida. "That means becoming the nominee first and becoming the president second. And then getting reelected president."
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