See how different groups voted in the governor’s race between Ralph Northam, Ed Gillespie and Cliff Hyra, and how their support compares with support for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Virginia exit poll. The poll was conducted by Edison Media Research for the National Election Pool, The Washington Post and other media organizations. See the bottom of the page for exit poll methodology.

By gender

Men made up a slight majority of voters for the first time in any recent Virginia election. But while men tend to vote more Republican, they favored Gillespie by just two points, smaller than Trump's nine-point edge last year.

Northam won female voters by 22 points, larger than Clinton's 17-point advantage last year.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Male
51% of voters

48%

1%

50%

Clinton 43%

Trump 52%

Female
49% of voters

61%

1%

39%

Clinton 56%

Trump 39%

By age

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

18-29
14% of voters

69%

2%

30%

Clinton 54%

Trump 36%

30-44
24% of voters

61%

3%

37%

Clinton 53%

Trump 40%

45-64
42% of voters

49%

1%

50%

Clinton 47%

Trump 50%

65+
20% of voters

47%

53%

Clinton 45%

Trump 52%

By race

Northam garnered support from 8 in 10 nonwhite voters according to exit poll results, while Gillespie received support from less than 2 in 10 among this group. Gillespie won white voters by 15 points, but this was much smaller than Trump’s 24-point advantage over Clinton in 2016.

African Americans have made up just under one-fifth of Virginia’s electorate, and a surge in black voting has been decisive in recent statewide elections.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

White
67% of voters

42%

1%

57%

Clinton 35%

Trump 59%

Black
20% of voters

87%

1%

12%

Clinton 88%

Trump 9%

Hispanic
6% of voters

67%

1%

32%

Clinton 65%

Trump 30%

Asian
3% of voters

Not enough respondents to break down details.

N/A

N/A

Other
3% of voters

Not enough respondents to break down details.

N/A

N/A

NET Nonwhite
33% of voters

80%

1%

19%

Clinton 79%

Trump 17%

By gender and race

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

White men
36% of voters

36%

1%

63%

Clinton 29%

Trump 65%

White women
32% of voters

48%

1%

51%

Clinton 41%

Trump 54%

Black men
9% of voters

81%

2%

17%

Clinton 84%

Trump 13%

Black women
12% of voters

91%

8%

Clinton 91%

Trump 7%

Education

Six in 10 college graduates supported Northam for governor according to the Virginia exit poll, up from the 55 percent who supported Clinton in 2016.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

College graduates
58% of voters

60%

1%

39%

Clinton 55%

Trump 39%

Non-college graduates
42% of voters

46%

2%

52%

Clinton 44%

Trump 51%

By education and race

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

White college graduates
41% of voters

51%

1%

48%

Clinton 45%

Trump 49%

White non-college graduates
26% of voters

26%

2%

72%

Clinton 24%

Trump 71%

Nonwhite college graduates
17% of voters

80%

1%

19%

Clinton 78%

Trump 17%

Nonwhite non-college graduates
16% of voters

80%

1%

19%

Clinton 81%

Trump 16%

By education, race and gender

White female college graduates — a group that split evenly in the 2013 Virginia governor’s election — favored Northam by 16 points over Gillespie according to exit polling.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

White college graduate women
20% of voters

58%

1%

42%

Clinton 50%

Trump 44%

White non-college graduate women
11% of voters

32%

1%

67%

Clinton 29%

Trump 66%

White college graduate men
21% of voters

46%

1%

54%

Clinton 40%

Trump 54%

White non-college graduate men
15% of voters

22%

2%

76%

Clinton 19%

Trump 75%

By 2016 total family income

Urban areas of the state have mostly recovered all the jobs lost in the recession, and then some. But the southern half of Virginia is still waiting.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Under $50,000
23% of voters

56%

2%

43%

Clinton 53%

Trump 41%

$50,000-$100,000
33% of voters

57%

2%

41%

Clinton 47%

Trump 49%

$100,000 or more
44% of voters

54%

1%

45%

Clinton 51%

Trump 44%

By party identification

A record high 41 percent of Virginia voters identified as Democrats according to exit polling, while 3 in 10 identified as Republicans, down slightly from 2016 and a record low since 1996. Like Trump, Gillespie narrowly won political independents but this was not enough to overcome Democrats’ 11-point party identification advantage.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Democrat
41% of voters

97%

3%

Clinton 92%

Trump 6%

Republican
30% of voters

4%

95%

Clinton 6%

Trump 88%

Independent or something else
28% of voters

47%

3%

50%

Clinton 43%

Trump 48%

By ideology

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Liberal
27% of voters

92%

2%

6%

Clinton 85%

Trump 11%

Moderate
42% of voters

64%

3%

33%

Clinton 58%

Trump 36%

Conservative
31% of voters

9%

90%

Clinton 12%

Trump 83%

By gender and marital status

Unmarried men narrowly favored Northam by a similar margin as Clinton last year, but Northam outperformed Clinton’s share of the vote among unmarried women by 16 points (77 percent to 61 percent). Northam also made significant gains among married men and women in comparison to Clinton’s 2016 share of the vote.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Married men
37% of voters

48%

2%

50%

Clinton 40%

Trump 56%

Married women
30% of voters

54%

1%

44%

Clinton 47%

Trump 48%

Non-married men
16% of voters

50%

3%

47%

Clinton 46%

Trump 42%

Non-married women
16% of voters

77%

1%

22%

Clinton 61%

Trump 32%

White evangelical or white born-again Christians

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

White evangelicals or born-again Christians
26% of voters

19%

1%

79%

Clinton 14%

Trump 80%

All others
74% of voters

67%

2%

31%

Clinton 59%

Trump 35%

Does anyone in your household own a gun?

Voters were about evenly split between those who live in households with and without a gun, and Northam won voters in households without a gun by giant 73 to 26 percent margin, larger than Clinton’s 40-point margin over Trump last year and McAuliffe’s 35-point margin in the 2013 governor’s race.

Gillespie won gun-owning household voters by 24 points, almost identical to Trump’s 23-point advantage last year.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Yes, household owns gun
52% of voters

37%

2%

61%

Clinton 36%

Trump 59%

No gun in household
48% of voters

73%

1%

26%

Clinton 68%

Trump 28%

When did you finally decide for whom to vote in the election for governor?

Almost 2 in 10 voters said they made up their mind in the final week, and this group favored Northam over Gillespie by a 24-point margin. Northam won voters who decided earlier by a smaller, seven-point margin.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

Decided in last week
18% of voters

61%

2%

37%

Clinton 45%

Trump 42%

Decided before last week
80% of voters

53%

2%

46%

Clinton 51%

Trump 46%

Which one of these five issues mattered most in deciding how you voted for governor today?

The network exit poll asked respondents which one of five issues matters most in deciding their vote for governor, and 39 percent of them chose “health care,” far more than any other issue in exit polls.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Gun policy
17% of voters

49%

2%

49%

Health care
39% of voters

77%

1%

23%

Abortion
8% of voters

Not enough respondents to break down details.

Immigration
12% of voters

26%

74%

Taxes
15% of voters

31%

4%

64%

How do you feel about the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

Trump disapprovers made up 57 percent of the Virginia electorate according to exit polling and Northam received 87 percent of that vote. Gillespie pulled in a slightly larger share of voters who approve of the president.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Approve
40% of voters

8%

1%

91%

Disapprove
57% of voters

87%

2%

11%

Was one reason for your vote for governor today:

Another question suggests Trump’s significant impact on the race — twice as many said one reason for their vote was to express opposition to Trump as express support. Nearly half of voters said he was not a factor in their vote.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Voted to express support for Donald Trump
17% of voters

4%

96%

Voted to express opposition to Donald Trump
34% of voters

97%

1%

2%

Donald Trump was not a factor
47% of voters

41%

3%

56%

Is your opinion of the Democratic Party:

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Favorable of Democratic Party
51% of voters

95%

1%

4%

Unfavorable of Democratic Party
46% of voters

9%

3%

88%

Is your opinion of the Republican Party:

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Favorable of Republican Party
37% of voters

9%

1%

90%

Unfavorable of Republican Party
59% of voters

84%

2%

15%

How do you feel about the way Terry McAuliffe is handling his job as governor?

Gov. Terry McAuliffe was not running for reelection, but polls showed a moderately positive approval rating could boost Northam.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Approve of McAuliffe
54% of voters

82%

2%

17%

Disapprove of McAuliffe
41% of voters

18%

1%

81%

Is Virginia's economy:

Virginia’s unemployment rate is only 3.7 percent. But a deeper look at the economy shows why it was a big issue in the governor’s race.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Getting better
32% of voters

59%

1%

40%

Getting worse
17% of voters

36%

2%

63%

Staying about the same
48% of voters

59%

2%

39%

Who would you trust to handle race relations?

Talking about race in Virginia in an era of Confederate statues and Black Lives Matter.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Only Ralph Northam
39% of voters

97%

1%

2%

Only Ed Gillespie
23% of voters

2%

98%

Both of them
17% of voters

43%

1%

56%

Neither of them
16% of voters

37%

7%

56%

Should monuments to Confederate leaders on government property be:

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

Confederate monuments should be removed
38% of voters

91%

1%

8%

Confederate monuments should be left in place
57% of voters

27%

2%

71%

Geographic area

Virginia’s two most polarized regions appear just as divided in this year’s gubernatorial election as in 2016, according to exit poll results.

Roughly 7 in 10 voters in the D.C. suburbs, including large exurban Loudoun and Prince William counties, supported Northam while almost two-thirds of voters in the mountainous and western parts of the commonwealth supported Gillespie.

 

Northam (D)

Hyra (Libertarian)

Gillespie (R)

2016 Exit poll results

Clinton

Trump

D.C. suburbs
28% of voters

69%

1%

30%

Clinton 64%

Trump 30%

Central Virginia
17% of voters

46%

1%

53%

Clinton 41%

Trump 53%

Hampton Roads
16% of voters

61%

1%

37%

Clinton 54%

Trump 40%

Richmond/South
19% of voters

54%

1%

44%

Clinton 52%

Trump 43%

Mountain
20% of voters

34%

1%

64%

Clinton 31%

Trump 64%

METHODOLOGY:

Final exit poll results based on 2,173 interviews of randomly selected voters as they exited polling places across the commonwealth of Virginia on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The poll was conducted by Edison Media Research for the National Election Pool, The Washington Post and other media organizations. The National Election Pool is a consortium including ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News. Typical characteristics have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points; the error margin for smaller voting groups is larger. Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding.

Originally published Nov. 7, 2017.

Polling analysis by Scott Clement and Emily Guskin. Graphics by Darla Cameron.

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