VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — With early voting continuing for Virginia's congressional primaries, voters were split on Friday about former President Donald Trump's guilty verdict.
"It's very obvious it's a weaponized judicial system and it's kind of scary," said a voter.
"If it was decided that he actually broke some rules then he has to be held accountable, no matter who you are," said another.
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The jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies for business fraud.
The decision coming out the same week Roanoke College released a poll showing Trump and Biden are tied at 42% in a head-to-head match-up.
The poll does shift to a two-point Biden lead when other candidates are included.
"Virginia - they're talking about being a battleground state, but it's not in the first tier of battle ground states," said Dr. Bob Holsworth, a longtime Virginia political observer.
Watch related story: 'No one is above the law:' State leaders, Hampton Roads residents respond to Trump verdict
While the Trump campaign has made it clear, they believe Virginia is not in play, election analysts don't consider it as competitive as other states like Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Biden beat Trump by 10% in 2020.
"If all of a sudden Trump is competitive and winning in a state like Virginia or Minnesota, he's likely to do very well in these other states also," said Holsworth.
As for what this ruling could mean for the electoral makeup in the commonwealth, there are still more than five months before Election Day.
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"This is an unprecedented moment in American politics, so we really can't predict what the outcome will be," said Holsworth.
The Center for Politics at the University currently predicts Democrats are likely to carry Virginia in November.
North Carolina is considered leaning toward Republicans.
