Ahead of final debate, Northam leads Gillespie by 7 points in poll

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Ahead of the third and final debate in Virginia's gubernatorial race, a poll shows that Democrat Ralph Northam has a 7-point lead over Republican Ed Gillespie.

The latest poll released Monday from the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University has Northam, Virginia's current lieutenant governor, with 49 percent of the support of likely voters, compared to 42 percent for Gillespie, the former GOP national committee chair.

Libertarian Cliff Hyra has 3 percent of the support while 6 percent of likely voters remain undecided.

The survey's margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.3 percent.

"The movement we see in this tracking poll runs in the Democrats' favor, and all three continue to hold their advantage," said Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center.

Northam and Gillespie will face off Monday night in their third and final debate at the University of Virginia at Wise in southwest Virginia. Watch live here.

In other statewide races:

• Lieutenant governor: Democrat Justin Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, leads Republican state Sen. Jill Vogel 48 percent to 40 percent
• Attorney general: Democratic incumbent Mark Herring leads former federal prosecutor John Adams, 51 percent to 40 percent

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