|
RICHMOND, Va. — Today, Freedom Virginia released polling conducted by Global Strategy Group across all of Fairfax County – including an oversample of Tysons Corner residents – that shows 75% of voters oppose a proposed new casino in Fairfax County. Of those 75% who oppose a casino, 50% of those voters strongly oppose a casino. Instead of pursuing unpopular ideas like a casino to generate revenues that address the county’s fiscal crisis, 76% of voters support tax restructuring so that corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, like the middle-class already does. A memo with the full results can be read here.
The new polling shows that 87% of voters are strongly in favor of local control over development decisions, agreeing that building a casino should depend on whether those in the community want it. Over 70% of voters believe that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors should decide whether there should be a casino in Tysons, rather than legislators in Richmond.
Voter opinion mirrors the Board’s 2026 draft legislative agenda, which urges reforms to Virginia’s outdated and regressive tax structure to fund core services with sustainable revenue streams. Additionally, 76% of voters want to see the Board of Supervisors do more to push back against the proposed casino.
When asked about Fairfax’s fiscal crisis and how to fund essential services, just 21% of voters believe a casino is necessary to provide local and state revenue. A supermajority of 75% of respondents believe a casino would not only be insufficient to address Fairfax’s revenue needs, but that it would also hurt local businesses and cost Fairfax in the long term.
Freedom Virginia co-Executive Director Ryan O’Toole released the following statement on the new polling:
“Fairfax voters are clear: they do not want a casino in the County, and they reject the argument that a casino will boost the local economy or lower their taxes. Yet this proposal stays alive because one greedy and untrustworthy developer is trying to force it through the General Assembly and onto millions of Virginians who simply don’t want it. Our research clearly shows that what they do want are fair and sustainable sources of revenue that get economic relief to Virginians years faster than a casino would. It’s time to put this unwanted issue to rest and move on to addressing the real and dire economic pressures facing Fairfax residents and Virginians right now, and we urge the Board of Supervisors to do just that by opposing the casino.”
The survey was conducted with 800 likely 2025 voters across Fairfax County, Virginia, plus an oversample of 100 voters in Greater Tysons to achieve 250 total interviews in Tysons, between September 10 and 14, 2025. The margin of error for the entire sample is +/- 3.5%, while the margin of error for the greater Tysons oversample is +/- 6.2%.
|
