NORFOLK, Va. — U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is leading Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney in the Democratic primary for the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election, a new poll found. However, the results suggest that many voters are unfamiliar with the two candidates.
The poll was released on Tuesday by the Wason Center, which is based out of Christopher Newport University in Newport News and is known for survey research and nonpartisan analysis of politics in the Commonwealth.
On the poll's question of which candidate people would vote for if the primary were held today, Spanberger leads Stoney 52 to 8%. But 40% of those polled indicated they didn't know which candidate they would support.
When it comes to the candidates' favorability, Spanberger got a 43% favorable and 4% unfavorable rating, while another 53% said they either don't have an opinion or don’t know. Stoney got a 10% favorable to 8% unfavorable rating, while 82% said they don't have an opinion or don't know.
"This early in the campaign season these numbers are likely to heavily reflect name recognition of the candidates and signal that Mayor Stoney has a long way to go in getting his name and message out to voters," the Wason Center wrote in a news release.
The poll comes under two years before the gubernatorial election, which will be held on Nov. 4, 2025. According to the Virginia Department of Elections, the primary date will be June 17, 2025.
Both candidates entered the 2025 race around two years before Election Day, an unusual timeline for gubernatorial candidates. Spanberger announced in November that she would forego re-election in the U.S. House of Representatives to run for Virginia's governor, and Stoney announced his gubernatorial campaign the next month.
No Republicans have announced their candidacy for the 2025 gubernatorial race, but there is speculation that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares may join the race, Axios Richmond reported last year.
According to the Wason Center, the poll results are based on 1,000 interviews of Virginia registered voters between Jan. 11 and 17. It has a margin of error of 3.7%.
The 2025 governor's race was one of many topics the poll covered, with the other topics largely focused on the issues on the table during the current Virginia General Assembly session.
