More than 475 VaNews subscribers participated in our annual top stories survey. Here is the result:
Story that will have most asting impact on Virginia:
1. McDonnell Case (52.5%)
2. Puckett Resigns; GOP Controls Senate (12.4%)
3. Cantor Defeat (11.8%)
4. Medicaid (10.9%)
5. Budget Sequestration (8.4%)
6. Warner-Gillespie Race (2.9%)
Other stories getting votes: McAuliffe takes office; U.S. 460; and 3rd District boundaries ruled unconstitutional
Headline with biggest impact on Warner-Gillespie Senate race - ALL RESPONDENTS
1. "Virginia GOP says Warner voted with Obama 97 percent of the time" (43.5%)
2. "Warner discussed job for Puckett's daughter" (14.4%)
3. "Warner may have wooed wrong voters" (13.1%)
4. Outside groups spending little in Virginia" (10.5%)
5. "Va. Libertarian Sarvis joins Senate ballot" (8.4%)
6. "Former Gov. McDonnell and Wife Found Guilty" (5.4%)
7. "Mark Warner targets Ed Gillespie’s Enron work" (3.6%)
8. "Gillespie uses Redskins name issue in ad against Warner" (1.3%)
A cross-tab shows agreement that those who self-identify as Republicans and Democrats agree the "97 percent" story had the biggest impact on the race. But the partisan agreement breaks down over the headline selected by the second-highest number of respondents.
One in five Democrats say Warner's strategy had the biggest impact, while one-in-five Republicans picked the presence of Libertarian Robert Sarvis on the ballot.
Headline with biggest impact on Warner-Gillespie Senate race - SELF-IDENTIFIED DEMOCRATS
1. "Virginia GOP says Warner voted with Obama 97 percent of the time" (43.3%)
2. "Warner may have wooed wrong voters" (20.9%)
3. "Warner discussed job for Puckett's daughter" (11.8%)
4. Outside groups spending little in Virginia" (8.6%)
5. "Former Gov. McDonnell and Wife Found Guilty" (6.4%)
6. "Va. Libertarian Sarvis joins Senate ballot" (4.8%)
7. "Mark Warner targets Ed Gillespie’s Enron work" (3.7%)
8. "Gillespie uses Redskins name issue in ad against Warner" (0.5%)
Headline with biggest impact on Warner-Gillespie Senate race - SELF-IDENTIFIED REPUBLICANS
1. "Virginia GOP says Warner voted with Obama 97 percent of the time" (49.1%)
2. "Va. Libertarian Sarvis joins Senate ballot" (15.4%)
3. "Warner discussed job for Puckett's daughter" (13.6%)
4. Outside groups spending little in Virginia" (7.7%)
5. "Warner may have wooed wrong voters" (5.4%)
6. "Former Gov. McDonnell and Wife Found Guilty" (4.5%)
7. "Gillespie uses Redskins name issue in ad against Warner" (2.7%)
8. "Mark Warner targets Ed Gillespie’s Enron work" (1.8%)
Jan. 2, 2015
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March 2023