Poll: Most Virginians support McDonnell, abortion clinic regulations

Gov. Bob McDonnell's popularity is growing in Virginia, where a majority of voters also support a controversial new law to regulate abortion clinics like hospitals, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning.

The Republican governor notched a a robust 61 percent job-approval rating, up from a 55 percent mark in a June Quinnipiac poll.

"Not only is he personally popular, but so too is his budget," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Virtually every other governor in the country must be envious about Bob McDonnell's numbers."

The survey released Wednesday also showed that 55 percent of respondents support a new law that requires abortion clinics to be regulated like hospitals. Proponents of the law have argued that it is in the interest of protecting women's health, while opponents have derided it as a politically motivated ploy to restrict women's access to abortions in the state and that new physical requirements for facilities that perform abortions could force most of them to close.

But just 22 percent of those polled said they do not support the regulations, which the state Board of Health is set to weigh on Thursday. A quarter of those surveyed said they had heard of or read about the regulations.

"There is strong support for the new abortion law among men and women. Opponents apparently have been unable to convince the electorate that this is an unwarranted back-door way to stop abortions," Mr. Brown said. "Even Democrats, by a plurality, support the measure."

The poll also showed that by a 50 percent to 41 percent margin, Virginians say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

The Virginia Legislature received a 48-34 percent approval rating, and the numbers appear to indicate that despite McDonnell's popularity and all-out push to ensure that Republicans take control of the state Senate after this fall's elections, voters prefer divided government. Democrats currently control the Senate, while Republicans enjoy a majority in the House of Delegates.

A quarter of those polled wanted to see both chambers controlled by Democrats and a quarter wanted the same for Republicans. Forty-three percent said they wanted the current split to continue.

Sen. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, continues to enjoy high marks as well. His 64 percent to 22 percent approval split is the highest of any statewide official. Fifty-one percent of voters approve of retiring Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat, while Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, saw a 39 percent to 15 percent split. Forty-seven percent of respondents approved of Republican Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II's job performance, while 29 percent disapproved.

The survey of 1,368 registered voters, was conducted from September 6-12 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

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