SALEM (WSLS 10) - Roanoke College has released a poll showing Virginia might help Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump become the undisputed leaders in the race for their respective party nominations.
Meanwhile, the College is preparing for Republican candidate Marco Rubio's rally on Sunday.
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Dr. Harry Wilson says his most recent poll is not even close.
Clinton is projected to lead the Democratic Party by 17 percent of the vote, while Trump is expected to carry Virginia by more than 20.
"I would have expected to find both Trump and Clinton ahead, but I think in both cases the margins may be a little bit bigger than what I had thought, because nationally, at least in the Democratic race, has certainly tightened," said Wilson.
On the Republican side, Wilson says the real focus will not be on Trump, but all of his opponents.
"If at this point in time Trump is going to be stopped, somebody needs to emerge as the challenger to Trump, not 3 or 4 other challengers to Trump, so there has to be some consolidation of that field, and if there isn't, those candidates just continue to split all those votes," said Wilson.
One of those opponents, Marco Rubio, will become the first presidential candidate ever to visit Roanoke College this weekend.
"The students are excited and I think faculty are excited. I've been working with some staff who are working very diligently to pull this off, and I know the staff are excited," said Wilson.
Meanwhile, with Clinton projected to win big, Wilson says a new office being set up in Roanoke Friday is likely preparing for the general election.
"Assuming that she gets the nomination, she is going to be extremely well-organized in Virginia," said Wilson.