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Gillespie Tops Poll; Riggleman Strong (and Surprising) Second

Gillespie Dominates; Riggleman Strong Second 
The First Virginia Line Media/Bearing Drift Poll of 2017 to gauge reader preference on the gubernatorial candidates was conducted this week and there is a strong preference for Ed Gillespie.

Chart_Q1_170127 [1]

Gillespie bests all his opponents by more than double digits acquiring 43% of the vote.

It is also clear among Bearing Drift readers that businessman and distiller Denver Riggleman is the clear Gillespie alternative, performing more than ten points better than Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart.

Virginia Is For Pipelines
A Jan. 25 release from Mason-Dixon Polling and Research shows that 62 percent said they support the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Respondents in the Roanoke and Southwest Virginia region showed the strongest support for the project, with 74 percent of Roanoke area respondents supporting the MVP.

Roanoke Poll On Commonwealth Issues
Felony Theft: Those in favor of raising the threshold to $500 is 31%, $1,000 is 36% and 24% think it should remain at $200. The limit hasn’t been raised in years and inflation has been about 2-3%.

Felony Rights: 81% agree that non-violent felons who have completed their sentences and probation and paid any fines should automatically have their voting rights restored, but 54% oppose restoration of gun rights for those persons.

Minimum Wage: 63% of residents favor raising the minimum wage in Virginia to $10 an hour now and $15 an hour by 2021.

20 Week Abortion Ban: A majority (53%) favors a state law that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or incest.

Right or wrong track? 52% think the Commonwealth of Virginia is heading in the right direction; 29 percent say it is on the wrong track.

Speaking of the abortion issue, this just happened today (this is the first time ever that a VPOTUS has spoken at the march):
 

This Week’s Podcasts
THE SCORE: Sen. Kaine goes after Betsy DeVos, and school choice; Bernie is still trying to give away free stuff; vultures, Tim Tebow, the race for DNC chair, and excuses. Plus, clips. Lots of clips. (This episode goes live Saturday, 1/28 at 6am)

VPOD [2]: Jim talks with Claire Gastanaga, a successful attorney, former deputy attorney general and now the executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union here in Virginia. Of course, her worst error is that she is a Michigan State Spartan and Virginia Cavalier.

You can listen to all our archived shows by visiting our podcast page [3] or, better yet, subscribe to all our podcasts through iTunes [4]: