RICHMOND — Virginians are feeling a bit better about Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), worse about President Biden and more adamant that abortion rights should be protected by law, according to a Roanoke College poll.

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       Youngkin’s approval rating in the poll out Friday did not change significantly from Roanoke College’s survey in February, with 53 percent of Virginians approving of his performance — similar to 50 percent in the earlier poll, and well within the poll’s margin of error.

       However, his disapproval rating had dropped significantly, to 35 percent from 41 percent in the February poll. Youngkin’s approval outpaced his disapproval by 18 points, doubling the nine-point margin from February.

       The Roanoke findings are more positive for Youngkin than a February poll from Christopher Newport University, which found the new governor’s approval rating at 41 percent and disapproval at 43 percent.

       Poll finds Youngkin underwater with Virginia voters, who veer to his left on major issues

       Both polls had reflected similarly negative views of the performance of Biden, however, and the new Roanoke College survey finds that Biden’s approval rating is 37 percent among Virginians, while 57 percent disapprove, a wider disapproval margin than in the February Roanoke poll.

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       It’s only mildly better than the personal rating the poll found for former president Donald Trump, who 34 percent of Virginians said they viewed favorably while 59 percent viewed him unfavorably.

       The poll found 35 percent of Virginians said abortion should be “legal under any circumstances,” while another 53 percent said it should be “legal only under certain circumstances.”

       Thirty-two percent of Virginians agreed with the draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion leaked last month that indicated the court was prepared to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to an abortion, returning the matter to the states to decide. Fifty-six percent of Virginians disagreed with the draft opinion, while 8 percent were unsure.

       Virginians were united in believing the United States should support Ukraine in its battle against Russian invasion. About a third of Virginians said the United States is doing enough to help, and 63 percent said the country should do more. Asked whether they consider Russian President Vladimir Putin to be a war criminal, 84 percent said yes.

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       “The war in Ukraine is one area where Democrats and Republicans in our state seem united,” David Taylor, director of the Roanoke College Institute for Policy and Opinion Research, said in a news release. “While Republicans tend to believe that sanctions against Russia will not be effective and feel that the United States is already doing enough to support Ukraine, respondents from both parties fear that the worst of the war is yet to come and brand Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal.”

       The survey of 648 Virginia residents was conducted between May 15 and May 26. All were 18 or older. Of the total, 403 interviews were conducted by telephone while 245 were “drawn from a proprietary online panel of Virginians,” the college said. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.7 percent.

       Scott Clement and Emily Guskin contributed to this report.