Southeast
Fox News Poll: Biden, Trump in a dead heat in Virginia
Virginia is not widely considered a battleground state this election cycle — or perhaps just not yet. After winning the state by more than 10 points four years ago, President Biden finds himself in a tie with former President Donald Trump, according to a new Fox News survey of Virginia registered voters.
The poll, released Thursday, shows Biden and Trump with 48% each in a head-to-head matchup in the Old Dominion State.
Biden gets strong backing from Black voters (73%), suburban women (58%), and college-educated voters (56%).
While Biden leads among Black voters, it is nowhere near where he was in 2020 – according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. In 2020, Biden won Blacks by 81 points, compared to 48 points in the new survey. Trump nearly triples his share among Black voters: 9% in 2020 to 25% today.
Trump’s support comes from White evangelical Christians (80%), rural voters (63%), voters without a college degree (56%), and White voters (54%).
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There is no age gap, as voters under 30 (48% each) and those 65 and over (48% each) split their support.
Independents are also torn (45% Biden, 43% Trump).
The gender divide is small but still evident, as men are more likely to go for Trump (+5), while the opposite is true among women (Biden +6).
A potential five-way race is tight in Virginia as well, with Biden edging out Trump by just 1 point, 42%-41%, followed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 9%, Cornel West 2%, and Jill Stein 2%.
As of now, none of the third-party candidates asked in the survey are on the ballot in Virginia.
While Trump (10%) loses slightly more support to Kennedy than Biden (7%) when the race expands, it levels out because Biden loses more support to West and Stein (6%) than Trump (3%).
Two-thirds of Virginia voters say they are extremely motivated to vote this November and they give Biden a 3-point edge and push him over 50% (51% Biden, 48% Trump).
The last time a Republican presidential candidate won Virginia was former President George W. Bush in 2004.
“Virginia is a must win state for Biden, so a tight race here is going to require some serious defense from his campaign to hold it,” says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson who conducts the Fox News Poll with Republican Daron Shaw. “But that appears possible, in that compared to elsewhere, Virginia voters are a little more positive about the economy and give Trump less of an advantage on the issues.”
Nearly 6 in 10 voters say they are holding steady financially (43%) or getting ahead (16%). That’s compared to 40% who feel they are falling behind. Those getting ahead/holding steady favor Biden by 32 points while those falling behind back Trump by 46 points.
Still, more voters say Trump would better handle the economy than Biden by 12 points. Trump’s advantage is even larger on immigration/border security where voters think he’d be better by 17 points. He also does well on the Israel-Hamas war (+10).
Biden is preferred on the other issues tested: climate change (Biden better by 18 points), abortion (+11), election integrity (+10), health care (+8).
On May 31, Trump was found guilty in the New York hush-money case. All survey interviews were conducted after the verdict was rendered.
Two-thirds (66%) of Virginians say Trump’s conviction won’t matter to their vote, including just over half who say it won’t matter at all (51%).
One-third (33%) say the conviction will matter a great deal or some to their vote. These voters prefer Biden by 41 points, while those who say it won’t matter at all go for Trump by a smaller 21-point margin.
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In general, over half believe Trump received a fair trial (55% fair, 42% not fair).
Views of both Biden and Trump are in negative territory: Biden is underwater by 14 points (42% favorable, 56% unfavorable) while Trump is under by 12 (43%, 55%).
Those viewing both candidates negatively, so-called “double haters,” go for Biden by 17 points.
“The group of voters unfavorable toward both Trump and Biden is larger in Virginia than in other states and those voters overwhelmingly think Trump’s hush-money trial was fair,” says Anderson. “These voters will be pivotal to the outcome and, at least for some of them, the felony conviction is another strike against Trump.”
Biden’s job rating is about the same as his personal favorable rating: 43% approve of his job performance while 57% disapprove. Forty-two percent strongly disapprove, which is double those who strongly approve (21%).
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is the first Republican to be elected to the governorship since 2009 and his job performance ratings are much better than Biden’s: 56% approve vs. 40% disapprove. Still, nearly 3 in 10 who approve of Youngkin back Biden (28%), while 2 in 10 who disapprove of him back Trump (20%).
In an interview with Martha MacCallum on Tuesday, Youngkin said Virginia is “back in play.”
“Biden is still the favorite in Virginia,” says Shaw. “But the data here show a very competitive race. The map is clearly expanding in a way that creates more opportunities for Trump to get to 270 electoral votes and more holes in the dam that Biden has to plug if he’s going to return to the White House.”
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Conducted June 1-4 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,107 Virginia registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (180) and cellphones (665) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (262). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population.
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Southeast
Florida driver hits student with her truck, covers license plate before fleeing, deputies say
A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly struck a teenager who was crossing the road with her truck, covered her license plate and sped off.
Sarah Wright, 37, was arrested Thursday and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license.
The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. at the intersection of Gage Avenue and Noah Street in Deltona, Florida, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, a 16-year-old boy, was riding his scooter home from Pine Ridge High School when he was struck by a black Chevrolet Silverado as he was using the crosswalk, the sheriff’s office said.
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The teenager fell to the ground, resulting in a serious laceration to the back of his head as well as an arm injury, but he remained alert and conscious after the incident.
A witness reported that she was checking her mailbox nearby when she heard the crash. She told investigators that the suspect, later identified as Wright, exited her truck after the crash and checked on the boy before she went back to her vehicle and covered her license plate with paper and tape.
But the witness still managed to see the first character of her tag. A neighborhood Ring camera also captured the truck fleeing the scene.
The victim and the witness were also able to provide a detailed description of the suspect.
Officials were then able to locate a suspect vehicle captured on a nearby License Plate Reader camera within minutes.
Wright was found in Flagler County and taken into custody with assistance from Florida Highway Patrol and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
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She was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond.
The teenage victim required staples for the laceration and treatment for his arm injury, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
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Southeast
Drone mishap during Orlando holiday aerial show sends child to hospital
A child was hospitalized on Saturday after being hit by a drone that was part of an Orlando, Florida holiday drone show.
According to the Orlando Fire Department, a 7-year-old boy was transported to the hospital because of injuries sustained from the falling drones, FOX 35 in Orlando reported.
In a video posted online by X user MosquitoCoFl, hundreds of drones being used as part of an aerial light show appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground.
A man could be heard saying to children nearby, “Oh no! I don’t believe they’re supposed to be falling.”
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Geese also appear on the water, flapping their wings to try and get out of the way of the chaotic scene.
City officials told the station the holiday drone show was permitted by the FAA.
Still, after one drone show went wrong, the city chose to cancel the second that night at 8 p.m. due to “technical difficulties.”
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The FAA told Fox News Digital it will investigate the cause of the drone show malfunction.
“Several small drones collided and fell into a crowd during a holiday drone show over [Eola] Lake in Orlando, Florida,” the FAA said. “The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, December 21.”
According to the agency, drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time.
For each drone show application, the FAA looks at things like the software controlling the drones, procedures for setting up safe and restricted areas to keep people a safe distance from the show, procedures if drones fail, and procedures for when an aircraft gets too close to the show.
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Additionally, the FAA reviews how the operator will keep the drones inside a confined area using Geofencing, and whether the operator has an adequate number of people to run the show.
For the second year, the City of Orlando used Sky Elements Drones as its vendor to operate the drones, the station reported.
Sky Elements Drones did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.
In a statement to Fox 35, the vendor said, “Sky Elements Drones wants to extend our sincere hope for a full and speedy recovery to those impacted at our Lake Eola show in Orlando on Saturday, Dec. 21.
“The well-being of our audience is our utmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company continued. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
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Southeast
Florida boy has open heart surgery after being hit by drone at holiday show, parents say, NTSB investigating
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an accident in which a 7-year-old Florida boy was struck by at least one drone at a holiday airshow over the weekend, resulting in him having to undergo open-heart surgery.
The NTSB on Wednesday said it was investigating the Saturday night malfunction at an aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando.
Adriana Edgerton and Jessica Lumsden, parents of Alexander, said one of the red and green-lit drones struck him and knocked him out upon impact, causing a chest injury, Fox Orlando reported.
Hundreds of drones being used as part of a Saturday night aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground, according to videos posted online.
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“Before they went down, the green one went straight at us. I went to the left. My son went to the right, and it hit my son,” Lumsden told the news outlet.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the boy’s parents.
The city canceled the show after the drones crashed.
“Due to technical difficulties, the 8 p.m. Holiday Drone Show at Lake Eola has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the city posted on X.
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It was not clear what led to the drone difficulties.
The vendor for the drone show, Sky Elements Drones, told the news outlet it wanted to extend “our sincere hope for the full and speedy recovery to those impacted” at the show.
“The well-being of our audience is of the upmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company said. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the malfunction.
Drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time, the agency said.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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