Democrat Ralph Northam leads Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia governor's race by 1.9 percentage points according to the latest Real Clear Politics average of polls.
Northam, the lieutenant governor, leads Gillespie, a former aide to President George W. Bush, 46.4 percent to 44.5 percent in the average of recent polls that were conducted Oct. 23-Nov. 3. The election takes place on Tuesday.
Gillespie, who has drawn the support of President Donald Trump, has been scratching away at Northam’s lead in recent weeks. He’s ahead by three points in the Optimus/Firehouse Strategies poll, a GOP survey, and is behind by three points in the recent Upshot/Siena poll and by one point in the Trafalgar Group poll.
Virginia has long been out of reach for conservatives, so the tight race is a big test for Republicans and one being closely watched by Democrats. Hillary Clinton carried the state last year in the presidential election with nearly 50 percent of the vote while Trump received just over 44 percent.
"Democrats are at an all-hands-on-deck moment," Jane Kleeb, Nebraska Democratic Party chair, told the Wall Street Journal.
Gillespie in the closing weeks has focused heavily on immigration issues. Northam has continued to push the anti-Trump message, but he got criticized last week after saying he would sign a bill to ban so-called sanctuary cities if a Virginia locality tries to become one.
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