The Roanoke College Poll: Clinton and Trump tied in Virginia

ROANOKE, Va., May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Likely presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are tied in Virginia with each garnering the support of 38 percent of likely voters, according to The Roanoke College Poll. While only 11 percent of likely voters said they are undecided, another 11 percent said they would vote for someone else and 2 percent stated they would not vote if Clinton and Trump were their only choices. Both candidates are significantly "under water" with regard to favorable/unfavorable opinions.

The Roanoke College Poll interviewed 610 likely voters in Virginia between May 9 and May 17 and has a margin of error of +4 percent.

Favorable ratings are very low for Clinton (30% favorable; 50% unfavorable) and even worse for Trump (23% favorable; 56% unfavorable). We also asked how voters would feel if either candidate was elected president in November. One in seven (17%) respondents said they would feel proud, with another 29 percent satisfied, but 19 percent said they would be unhappy and 30 percent would be disgusted if Clinton wins. Again, Trump's numbers are even worse (8% proud, 28% satisfied, 16% unhappy and 42% disgusted). While party affiliation has a large impact on those numbers, 5 percent of Democrats said they would be disgusted with President Clinton, and twice that number of Republicans (10%) would be disgusted with President Trump. Another 10 percent of each party would be unhappy if their candidate won. Despite the unease, party loyalty still runs high with 78 percent of Democrats saying they will vote for Clinton and 80 percent of Republicans saying they will vote for Trump.

"This is not a 'feel good' poll," said Dr. Harry Wilson, director of the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research. "We have talked about 'lesser of the evils' choices for several years, but this race may epitomize that statement…and we've barely begun the real nastiness."

Full results, including how candidates fared on particular issues, is available at: http://www.roanoke.edu/about/news/rc_poll_may_2016_general_election

SOURCE The Roanoke College Poll