Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, tied President Barack Obama in a Christopher Newport University poll of registered Virginia voters. Mr. Paul and Mr. Obama each received 43 percent of the votes in the statewide survey of 1,018 people.
Although Mr. Paul stacks up well against Mr. Obama in the Old Dominion state, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum stack up better. Mr. Romney defeated Mr. Obama by 3 percentage points (46 to 43) and Mr. Santorum bested the president by 4 percentage points (46 to 42). Mr. Obama fared the best against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, trouncing the Georgia Republican by 5 percentage points (45 to 40).
Mr. Paul also faces an uphill battle against Mr. Romney in the Virginia Republican primary, according to the Christopher Newport University poll. The Bain Capital co-founder bested the former Air Force surgeon by 30 percentage points (53 to 33).
Mr. Paul and Mr. Romney will be the only candidates on the ballot for the Virginia Republican primary. Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum failed to obtain the required number of signatures to be added to the ballot. More than half of the survey’s participants said that they would like to see other names on the ballot.
While Mr. Paul may not be the favorite in Virginia, the Paul campaign is confident that the Texas congressman’s appeal to Republicans, Democrats and Independents will help him win the Virginia Republican primary on Super Tuesday.
“For Republicans to have a serious chance of defeating Obama come November, they should have the organization, fundraising, and stamina required for a protracted 50-state campaign. Ron Paul has that, and he also has broad appeal,” argued Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Manager John Tate, in a campaign press release.
“Proof of that is in Virginia, where Ron Paul is only one of two choices in the primary and where Republicans, Independents, and conservative Southern Democrats will play a big role in selecting who our next President will be,” Mr. Tate added.
Christopher Newport University conducted the survey of 1,018 registered Virginia voters from February 4th through February 13th. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
