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As early voting has started in the Republican 5th District Congressional primary, we’re seeing the first set of polling released in the contest this year.

In a survey conducted over the last month by national GOP pollster Battleground Connect, 45% of Republican voters said they would back Virginia State Sen. John McGuire, as opposed to incumbent Bob Good. Connect, which conducted the poll on behalf of the McGuire campaign, found 31% of Republicans in the district said they would vote for Good, compared with 46% last year. A total of 24% remain undecided, the data shows. That’s a 21-point increase for McGuire, as opposed to the previous poll released in December.

Looking at the rest of the data, it says 39% of Republican voters in the 5th District view Good favorably, down from 48% in December. The incumbent’s unfavorable rating has climbed from 24% to 39% in the same time period, with 22% of Republicans having no opinion.

“The results of this survey show what we already know — people are demanding better than Good,” McGuire campaign spokesman Riley Ploch said in a statement. “Bob Good has alienated almost every segment of the party, not the least of which is the Trump base, by backstabbing President Trump and refusing to support him at the time of these unconstitutional, political indictments.”

EARLY VOTING CONTINUES

Early voting continues across the 5th District. A reminder, there are both Republican and Democratic primaries for the Fifth District seat in the House of Representatives. Good is being challenged by McGuire on the Republican side. On the Democratic side, there are three competitors, including Gloria Tinsley Witt, Paul A. Riley and Gary L. Terry. There are currently no polling data available for the Democratic candidates.

Now in Virginia, the primary elections, as we mentioned before, are set for Tuesday, June 18. As a result, early voting started on Friday, May 3. Why? That’s because early voting starts 45 days prior to the primary.

To be clear, however, if you want to vote early, that doesn’t mean you head to the same precinct as you do in November.

Early voting is limited to one location, the registrar’s office in each county. In Charlotte, that means going to the registrar’s office, located at 420 Thomas Jefferson Highway in Charlotte Court House.

Citizens are able to vote at the location from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays on June 8 and June 15, also from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And to vote early, you will need to do a few things. First, you’ll need to provide your name and address. Second, you have to show an ID. Acceptable IDs include a driver’s license, DMV-issued ID card, employee ID card with a photo, US Military ID or government-issued ID card. You can also use a recent utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck containing your name and address.