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A Virginia Commonwealth University poll shows narrow public support for Virginia’s incentive package to land half of Amazon’s East Coast headquarters, which would create 25,000 high-paying jobs in exchange for $550 million in cash payments for the project, in Arlington County’s Crystal City area.

The poll, released Thursday by the VCU Center for Public Policy at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, found support for the Amazon incentive package from a 49 percent plurality of more than 800 people surveyed across the state, while 41 percent said the state is paying too much for the high-profile economic development project and 10 percent did not know or refused to answer.

“This close split could indicate that the more Virginians heard about the Amazon deal, the less confident they are that it’s a win for Virginia, said Robyn McDougle, the center’s director, who is married to Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus.

The Amazon incentive package announced in mid-November will come before the General Assembly for approval during the 46-day session that began Wednesday. With elections looming in November for all 140 seats, debate already has begun over regional inequities, such as limited access to broadband telecommunication networks in rural Virginia.