President Barack Obama leads all of the Republican presidential candidates in Virginia, and it doesn't appear that putting Gov. Bob McDonnell on the ticket would help, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
The poll, which was conducted March 13-18 with 1,034 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, shows Obama with a 50-42 percent margin over Mitt Romney. That is his biggest lead over Romney in this election cycle, according to Quinnipiac's polling.
If Republicans opt for McDonnell as their vice presidential nominee, Quinnipiac said that would not help the GOP carry the state. An Obama-Biden ticket against Romney and McDonnell had Democrats winning, 50-43 percent.
"What this Quinnipiac University survey finds is that despite the governor's approval ratings with Virginia voters, he does not appear to help give the GOP the state's electoral votes," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Other results from Quinnipiac's poll:
Obama wins head-to-head against other Republican contenders:
* 54-35 percent over Newt Gingrich;
* 49-40 percent over Rick Santorum;
* 49-39 percent over Ron Paul.
"President Barack Obama has opened up some daylight in Virginia against his Republican challengers," Brown said. "His margin over Romney, in the state where Obama has been struggling after his win in 2008, compares to a slight 47-43 percent lead in February."
"The president's lead over Romney in Virginia is due mainly to his strong margin among women, 52-39 percent, but he also wins 48 percent of men to Romney's 45 percent," Brown said.
According to the poll, Obama grabs 97 percent of Democrats in the state and 46 percent of independent voters compared to Romney's 43 percent. Romney leads with Republicans, 84-6 percent.
Meanwhile, according to the poll, Virginia voters approve 49-47 percent of the job the president is doing, Obama's best score in almost a year, and say 49-47 percent he deserves to be reelected, also his best score.
