SALEM, Va. – Roanoke College released their October 2025 election poll on Oct. 30, making it their final poll before the November 2025 election in Virginia. The poll asked likely Virginia voters multiple questions regarding their opinions on candidates and who they would vote for. 97 responses were taken using landline interviews, 442 were cellphone interviews, and 502 were completed by text-to-web.
1,041 people were interviewed between Oct. 22 and Oct. 27. Roanoke College said quotas were used to ensure that different regions of the commonwealth were proportionately represented. Similar to the college’s last poll, weighting was done to match the 2021 Virginia exit poll.
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Approval ratings of political figures
President Donald Trump’s approval rating and disapproval ratings have slightly decreased since August, with 40% approval (down from 41%) and 53% disapproval, which is down 3% from August. More participants were labeled as “mixed,” at 6%, up from only 1% in August.
As for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, his approval rating has stayed the same at 50% since August. His disapproval is at 36%, which is down from 43% in August. The number of participants who were labeled “mixed” was 10%, up from August’s 2%.
Favorability of political figures
Please note that, while favorability tends to correlate with approval, they are not the same statistic. Favorability ratings for President Trump and Gov. Youngkin were not polled this time.
Abigail Spanberger‘s favorability was polled for the fourth time by the college. She received a rating of 47% favorability and 42% unfavorability. 7% of respondents didn’t know or refused the question, and 4% were mixed. Both Spanberger’s favorability and unfavorability have increased since August, with more Virginians knowing who she is.
Winsome Earle-Sears’s favorability was polled for the fourth time by the college as well. She received a rating of 38% favorability and 45% unfavorability. 12% of respondents didn’t know or refused the question, with 5% being mixed. Like Spanberger, both her favorability and unfavorability ratings have increased since August, as more Virginians have gotten to know her.
How are respondents planning to vote?
Participants were also asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, and they had to decide who to vote for right now.
As of October 2025, 51% of respondents said they would vote for Abigail Spanberger, and 41% said they would vote for Winsome Earle-Sears. This is an increase in Spanberger’s lead from August, which saw her leading Sears by 7 points.
Since August, fewer respondents have yet to make a decision on who they will vote for, with 4% of respondents saying they are undecided, and 1% said they would vote for another candidate.
Democrats continue to narrowly hold the advantage by 2% in the lieutenant gubernatorial race. Now, 42% of respondents said they would vote for Democratic candidate Ghazala Hashmi, and 40% said they would vote for Republican John Reid. 14% are undecided, and 1% said they would vote for another candidate.
The state of the attorney general race has changed drastically since August, following the controversy involving text messages sent by Democratic candidate Jay Jones in 2022 that were revealed earlier this month.
In August, Jay Jones held a 3-point lead over incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares. Now, 46% said they would vote for Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, and 38% said they would vote for Democratic candidate Jay Jones. 13% are undecided, with 1% saying they would choose another candidate.
Respondents were also asked if they had read anything about the controversy involving Jay Jones’s text messages. 80% said yes. Respondents that said they already voted for Jones were also asked if they would have changed their vote. 87% said they would still have voted for Jones. 1% said they would have voted for Miyares, 5% said they would not have voted at all, and 8% refused to answer.
“While Jones has clearly lost some support among Democrats, they have not moved over to support Miyares, suggesting they may either ‘come home’ in the end or simply not vote in that race. As concerning for Jones, Miyares now narrowly leads among independents. It may be unprecedented to see such a divergence between the race for governor and attorney general. Everyone who ever contemplates running for public office might consider holding their tongue and stilling their hands on occasion.”
Dr. Harry Wilson, interim director for IPOR and professor emeritus of political science at Roanoke College
Most important issues
Respondents were also asked what their most important issues are this election cycle.
In a major change since the last poll, the most popular response is now “threats to democracy” at 29%. In August, inflation/cost of living topped the list as the most important issue. Now, it’s listed with the second-most responses at 24%. Immigration was trailing behind at 12%, abortion, taxes, and crime all received 5%, Jobs and transgender issues received 4%, and gun control received 3%. 9% of interviewees cited “something else” as their most important issue.
Crosstabs
The polling data also provided select crosstabs, such as how Democratic, Republican, and independent voters answered certain questions. As expected, those who identify as Democrats have higher favorability and approval ratings of Democratic figures, and Republicans have higher favorability and approval ratings of Republican figures.
Independents had split views on the candidates, particularly when asked who they would vote for. Spanberger leads with independents, 55% to 32% against Earle-Sears, and Hashmi also holds a 15-point lead against Reid.
In the race for attorney general, Jones is trailing with independent voters. Now, Miyares leads at 41% support, and Jones received 37% support from independents.
The poll contained over 20 questions, so less significant topics were not covered here. If you’d like all information, as well as the raw polling data, you can visit the Roanoke College website here.
For more information on how polling works, click here.