Obama’s popularity slipping, according to poll of Va. voters

A new poll shows President Barack Obama's popularity slipping in Virginia.

Obama had an approval rating of 48 percent and disapproval rating of 46 percent in the Public Policy Polling survey of people who are likely to vote in this year's general election for statewide offices.

Obama carried the state in November with 52.6 percent of the vote.

The poll of 617 likely voters taken June 30 to July 2 has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, so Obama could be above 50 percent. In national polls he has been around 60 percent.

The poll also shows a high level of polarization among the Virginia electorate. Ninety-five percent of Democrats gave Obama high marks, but only 9 percent of Republicans did.

But independents also rated Obama poorly, with 38 percent saying he is doing well and 52 percent saying he is not.

The sample was almost evenly divided among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Public Policy Polling said Obama's numbers would be more favorable if more blacks and young voters were included in the survey, but the poll was designed to measure approval ratings in the context of the race for governor.

The same polling organization said Republican Bob McDonnell was receiving 49 percent of the vote to 43 percent for Democrat R. Creigh Deeds in the race for governor, with McDonnell getting a boost from independents. Fewer people are expected to vote in the governor's race than in last year's presidential contest.

"There are a couple ways to look at this," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "You could argue in light of these numbers that it wouldn't be that helpful for Creigh Deeds to have Barack Obama come and campaign for him. At the same time, a primary purpose of Obama appearing would be to generate interest in the election among his base voters, who turned out last year but wouldn't generally vote in an off-year election and thus aren't getting polled."

Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., remains popular, the poll showed. His approval rating of 57 percent was the fourth best of 34 senators the polling organization has surveyed on in the past year.

The poll also found that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's approval rating of 49 percent is better than a year ago, when he polled at 46 percent. This is rare among governors, most of whom have seen their popularity slide.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., polled at 46 percent, about average among the senators.

A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee declined to comment on the survey results.

Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia, said the numbers show "that Virginia voters are not in tune with national Democratic politics."

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .