Virginia Presidential Primary 2024: Biden, Trump Vie To Build On Leads

VIRGINIA — As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump seek their parties' nomination for a rematch of the 2020 presidential election in 2024, Virginia will be one of 16 U.S. states and territories holding a presidential primary on Super Tuesday, March 5.

On the Republican ballot, former President Donald Trump will look for a win after Biden defeated him in 2020. The latest poll released by Roanoke College's Institute for Policy and Opinion Research on March 1 says Biden would win Virginia's vote in the general election with 47 percent over Trump's 43 percent.

The poll found Virginians' approval of Biden fell from 42 percent last May to 33 percent. Trump received a 35 percent approval rating from Virginians in the poll.

David Taylor, director of Institute for Policy and Opinion Research at Roanoke College, noted Virginia is a swing state or leans left. Since Roanoke College's 2020 poll, Taylor noted Biden's approval rating has seen minimal change at 35 percent, but the favorability rating increased from 37 percent to 61 percent.

"Biden’s favorability rating of 35% now compared to 37% four years ago is relatively unchanged, but his unfavorability rating (61% now compared to 37% in 2020) has nearly doubled and nearly matches Trump’s favorable/unfavorable ratings in 2020 and in this 2024 poll," said Taylor. "Despite Virginia Republicans’ strong desire for Trump to be the party’s candidate in this November’s general election, the Roanoke College Poll found that Trump trails Biden by four points in November’s race but (former South Carolina Gov. Nikki) Haley would lead Biden by nine points if she were the nominee."

At a rally Saturday night in Richmond, Trump asked supporters to vote on Super Tuesday to send a clear message. “We win Virginia,” if voters come out, Trump said, WTOP reported. “We win it 100%. It’s over — the election would be over.”

One Republican who didn't attend the rally was Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who had a previously scheduled family commitment, his office said. The first-term governor is seen as a possible GOP presidential contender in the future, and has not been on stage with Trump in recent years, pundits said.

Trump is not popular in Virginia, losing the state in the 2020 presidential race by 10%, WTOP said.

Youngkin said he wouldn't endorse a primary presidential candidate but would support whoever the nominee would be, USA Today reported in November. Trump endorsed the businessman for governor in 2021, and Youngkin was seen as a potential presidential nominee, but did not run. During the 2023 Virginia state elections, Youngkin's party saw a setback as Democrats took the majority in the House of Delegates and maintained Virginia Senate control.

Trump's team expects him to win the Republican nomination by March 19 as the former president could win all Super Tuesday primaries, the Washington Post reported. Haley has confirmed she will stay in the race through at least Tuesday. She won the District of Columbia GOP primary on Sunday, 62.8 percent to 33.3 percent from Trump.

The Virginia Republican primary ballot also includes Chris Christie, Ryan Binkley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, although all of these candidates have dropped out, except Haley. Trump is leading in the Republican Party with 247 delegates to former Haley's 43 delegates to date.

"Ahead of Super Tuesday, it’s not too surprising that former president Trump is likely to win the commonwealth’s Republican primary," said Taylor of Roanoke College's Institute for Policy and Opinion Research. "Among Virginians that self-reported a likelihood of voting on Tuesday, Trump holds an eight-point lead over former ambassador Nikki Haley, but based on what we’ve seen in the past, I would expect actual voter turnout to be lower than what our poll found."

A Republican candidate needs 1,215 delegates to win the nomination for president. Virginia has 48 delegates up for grabs of the 874 delegates being awarded in Super Tuesday's Republican primaries. The Republican National Convention will be held from July 15 to 18.

The primaries come as the Supreme Court decided Monday to restore Trump to the ballot in several states that eliminated the former president from the ballot. While the states' measures sought to disqualify Trump based due to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, the Supreme Court decided Congress, not the states, could have that power, the Associated Press reported. Another effort in Virginia to remove Trump from the ballot was denied by a federal judge in January.

On the Democratic ballot, President Joe Biden is seeking a second term and faces Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips. Before Super Tuesday, Biden is the front-runner with 206 delegates garnered so far.

A Democratic candidate needs 1,969 delegates to win the nomination for president. There are 1,421 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday, including 99 in Virginia. The Democratic National Convention will be held from Aug. 19 to 22.

How to Vote in the Virginia Presidential Primary

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Virginia for Tuesday's presidential primary. Virginia voters are not registered by party, so they can choose to cast a ballot in either the Republican or Democratic primary. Republican and Democratic candidate lists are available here.

To vote on Election Day, visit your assigned polling place between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. An acceptable form of ID is required to vote in person. Voters can seek more information from their locality's elections office.

The deadline to register to vote or update an address on an existing voter registration was Feb. 12. Same-day registration is available after the deadline, giving voters the option to cast a provisional ballot. Voters may ask to complete same-day registration at an early voting site or polling place.

Follow Patch on election night as results start to come in when polls close at 7 p.m. The Virginia Department of Elections website will post unofficial results as votes are tallied.