Large Majority of Virginia Voters Say Education Is ‘Very Important,’ Don’t Say the Same on Trans Issues: Poll

Virginia voters said they are focused on education this year while transgender issues are less of a priority for the electorate, a new Washington Post-Schar poll found.

While 74% of poll respondents said education is a "very important" factor in their vote this election cycle, just 34% said the same about transgender issues — a policy priority for Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin as he seeks to help Republicans win back the state legislature.

On the subject of the state's governor, 43% of voters said they disapprove of the way Youngkin has handled transgender issues, while 37% say they approve. More voters also said they trust Democrats to handle transgender issues than Republicans.

Youngkin's controversial new policies require students to use facilities associated with their gender assigned at birth and prohibit the use of pronouns or nicknames without parental consent.

When it comes to education, pandemic-related learning loss was a key issue for respondents, 65% of whom said they think at least some of their children lost ground academically during the pandemic.

The poll was conducted among 1,181 registered voters between Oct. 11-16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.