By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
(The Center Square) – If there were any doubts that Virginia is returning to its status as a key battleground state in the upcoming presidential elections, visits by First Lady Jill Biden and former President Donald Trump would indicate confirmation.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are tied at 42% each in a head-to-head matchup in Virginia. According to a Roanoke College Poll, Biden holds a slight lead (40%-38%) when other candidates are included. The survey of 711 likely voters conducted by the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research between May 12 and May 21, 2024, shows that the economy is the top issue for 44% of respondents, followed by immigration (14%) and abortion (13%).
The latest poll shows Virginia voters could choose Trump, a state Biden won by 10 points in 2020. The tide has been turning for Trump in Virginia, as he won the state’s March 5 Republican Presidential Primary by nearly 30 points, a victory that many would go to then-challenger Nikki Hayley, the former South Carolina governor.
In a recent political survey conducted by John Zogby Strategies, the competition between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump appears to be heating up in Virginia, with Trump holding a narrow lead.
The poll, conducted from April 13 to April 21, 2024, involved 23,683 likely voters across the U.S., 586 of whom were from Virginia.
The president was joined by the Secretary of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, the AmeriCorps CEO, and members of Congress to announce $7 billion in grants through the EPA’s “Solar for All” grant competition, which provides funding to states, municipalities, and nonprofits to deliver residential solar power to 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Additionally, the president announced the start of the American Climate Corps, a federal jobs initiative to hire 20,000 Americans to build clean energy and climate resiliency projects around the country. The American Climate Corps is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, a workforce initiative started by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt following the Great Depression in 1933. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed and built the Prince William Forest Park in Triangle.
A portion of the 13,000-acre recreational area near Quantico Marine Corps Base is closed to visitors to accommodate them.
The closure and restrictions imposed on the park are in response to a request from the United States Secret Service to ensure a secure staging area and perimeter with adequate standoff distance to safeguard the President during his visit, federal documents state. These temporary measures are also aimed at enabling the Secret Service to conduct security sweeps of the area, secure the landing zone for the President’s arrival, and ensure public safety.
Donald Trump won his first victory in Prince William County during a dual Presidential Primary on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2023.
The presumptive nominee won handily in the county, with 60% of the vote, 18,768 votes. His Republican Primary opponent, Nikki Haley, won just three of the county’s 84 election precincts, 11,313 votes.
