NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger and Winsome Earle-Sears will meet face to face for the only time ahead of the November election Thursday night.

Ahead of the highly awaited debate, political expert and Associate Professor at Old Dominion University Jessie Richman previewed how each candidate will attack the debate.

According to Polls from Emerson College and Christopher Newport University, Spanberger has a double-digit lead on Earle-Sears.

Those polls were conducted before Democratic Attorney General candidate, Jay Jones, came under fire for a text exchange where he talked about shooting former Republican GOP speaker Todd Gilbert.

Polling showed that one of the top issues for voters was threats to democracy. Richman believes Earle-Sears will us

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