Follow-up questions about this press release should be addressed to:
Jesse Richman, PhD
Associate Professor
Political Science & Geography
757-683-3853
jrichman@odu.edu
The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion 91¶ĚĘÓƵ recently completed data collection for the 17th annual Life in Hampton Roads (LIHR) survey. The Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at ODU generously funded the 2026 Life in Hampton Roads Survey. The purpose of this survey is to gain insight into residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in Hampton Roads as well as other topics of local interest such as perceptions of police, politics, the economy, education and health. A total of 661 web-based surveys were completed between May 27 and July 20, 2026. The 2026 survey included several questions about political attitudes given that Virginians will soon participate in the November 2026 Congressional midterm elections. Because of the timeliness of this information, selected political results are being released in advance of the remainder of the study which will be released in the coming months. Survey data was weighted to match each city’s population distribution on several variables including race, Hispanic ethnicity, age, education, and gender.
- Identification with the Democratic Party continues to increase, while identification with the Republican Party declined.
- Approval of Donald Trump’s job performance declined from last year’s survey and stands at 28.6 percent.
- Governor Abigail Spanberger’s job performance is approved of by a narrow majority of respondents, with roughly one in four Republicans approving, and three in four Democrats approving.
- Democrats appear well positioned for a strong performance in the Congressional midterm elections.
Political party affiliation among respondents to the survey continued to lean substantially toward the Democratic Party, in line with past Life in Hampton Roads’ surveys. Approximately 42.6 percent of respondents (up from less than 37 percent of respondents last year) said they felt closest to the Democratic Party when asked the question “Do you generally feel closer to the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or do you consider yourself to be an independent or something else?” Democratic Party identification was higher than in any recent Life in Hampton Roads survey. Identification with the Republican Party declined. Approximately 21.6 percent (down from nearly 24 percent) identified with the Republican Party. The portion identifying as independents, other or something else also declined.
The major gains in party identification for the Democratic Party over the last two years may play an important role in shaping voter choices later this year in November – people who affiliate with a particular political party tend to vote for that party’s candidates. That said, the portion of independents remains substantial, reflecting the failure of both parties to win the support of a significant portion of the population, and the important role those without a major party affiliation may still play in shaping election outcomes.
The survey asked respondents to indicate whether they approved or disapproved of the job performance of Donald Trump as President and Abigail Spanberger as Governor. Slightly more than half of respondents (51.4 percent) indicated that they approved or strongly approved of Spanberger, while only 28.6 percent indicated that they approved or strongly approved of Trump, down from just over 33 percent last year.
Most respondents who indicated that they voted for Trump in 2024 continue to approve of his job performance (85.4 percent), but 14.6 percent disapproved. Trump disapproval ratings are nearly as high among those who did not vote for either major candidate as among those who voted for Harris.
Approval of Abigail Spanberger tended to split the parties, but there was a surprising degree to which Democratic Party identifiers disapproved, and Republican identifiers approved. Overall, 23.9 percent of Republicans approved or strongly approved of Spanberger, while 26 percent of Democrats disapproved or strongly disapproved. High profile conflicts between the governor and the Democratic majorities in the General Assembly may have soured some Democrats on their co-partisan governor. At the same time, these conflicts may have brought Spanberger some Republican cross-over support. Almost a third of respondents (29 percent) disapproved of both Trump and Spanberger. Less than one in ten respondents (9 percent) approved of both the Governor and President.
The 2026 survey asked respondents about their preferences in the upcoming House of Representative elections. A strong showing in Virginia could help Democrats recapture control of Congress in the midterm elections. Overall, the survey results suggest Democrats are positioned to do quite well in the Hampton Roads region. More than half (51.9 percent) of respondents indicated that they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives, while only 24.9 percent indicated that they planned to vote for the Republican candidate. Thus, more than two-thirds (67.7 percent) of those who indicated that they would vote for a major party candidate supported the Democratic candidate. This is substantially higher than the 59.2 percent of major-party voters in the 7 cities who supported a Democratic candidate in the 2024 House of Representatives election. An 8-point swing towards the Democratic candidates across the 7 cities would ensure reelection for Democrat Bobby Scott (3rd District) and put Republican Jen Kiggans (2nd District) in serious jeopardy even though Kiggans won in 2024 by a 50.74 to 49.90 margin. Looking just outside of the seven cities of Hampton Roads which is the target area for the survey, a similar swing in the 1st District currently represented by Republican Rob Wittman could make that contest very competitive.
