Olympia Meola reports that the oil lobby says a majority of Virginians are on their side when it comes to increased exploration.
A new survey shows 70 percent of the likely voters polled either somewhat or strongly support increased access to domestic oil and natural gas resources. Twenty percent of those polled said they oppose it while 6 percent said they did not know.
The telephone poll was conducted between July 10 and July 21 by Harris Interactive. It surveyed 501 registered Virginia voters who are likely to vote in the presidential election, and was commissioned by API, the national trade association representing the oil and natural gas industry.
Those poll results put Virginians generally in line with the sentiment nationally, according to other polls not affiliated with special interest groups.
For example, a Zogby International telephone survey of 1,113 likely voters in June showed that 74 percent support off-shore drilling for oil in U.S. coastal waters.