Latest polling shows 73% of Virginians oppose boys playing in girls’ sports with 69% supporting parents being notified if a child wishes to change their gender – both issues that have given the Earle-Sears campaign momentum in the past weeks.
The new data from Co/Efficient released August 26th shows Abigail Spanberger and Winsome Earle-Sears polling within the margin of error while Republican John Reid and Democrat Ghazala Hasmi tied in their race for Lt. Governor.
Since repeated scandals involving transgender students rocked Loudoun County, Earle-Sears has found a way to distinguish herself from Spanberger who has repeatedly voted to support male athletes competing in women’s sports and has sided with school boards on parent’s rights issues.
Less than 27% of Virginians agree with Spanberg’s position and Earle-Sears has found the issue to be a motivating one for both her base and moderate Virginians.
Spanberger’s support of school boards and trans activists over parents is one of a number of issues that national pundits say is hurting Democrat candidates nationwide.
“That’s why you have such struggles right now in your party, because you’re not for anything that’s on the right side of any of the 80/20 issues that are driving this cultural divide in America,” said CNN’s Scott Jennings.
The Virginia Department of Health has moved to protect female athletes but the process will take some time and school districts such as Loudoun and Prince William County continue to oppose the issue.
While in Congress, Spanberger voted to require girls’ teams to admit boys in school athletics and has vowed to remove parental oversight of Virginia Classrooms. The Department of Education has threatened funding for schools that do not protect female athletes under Title IX.
(RELATED: “Game Changer” Latest Poll Shows Winsome Earle-Sears Gaining Momentum)
(RELATED: “Dangerous and Reckless”: Spanberger Faces Backlash Over Sanctuary State Pledge)