Early poll suggests McDonnell widening lead
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
April 17, 2009
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Former Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell has broadened his lead against each of the three Democrats vying to oppose him in the race for governor, a new Rasmussen Reports poll suggests.
Though both sides dismissed the results as just one, early poll, the lead highlights a sobering challenge for the victor in the June 9 Democratic primary. McDonnell, the presumptive Republican nominee, now holds a 10-point advantage over his closest competitor, former Del. Brian Moran. A similar Rasmussen survey in February showed McDonnell with a three-point lead over Moran.
Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, Moran’s chief rival in the primary, lags 12 points behind McDonnell in the race, followed by Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, who trails the Republican by 15 points.
Candidates recently reported the results of their first-quarter fundraising. McAuliffe, who is known as one of the nation’s most proficient fundraisers, came in first in that contest with a haul of $4 million.
A bruised Virginia GOP has vested its hopes in McDonnell to reverse a years-long trend of losses in a state that last year cast its electoral votes for a Democratic president for the first time in four decades. Virginia will be the most closely watched of the nation’s two gubernatorial races this year.
McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said the most recent poll showed the candidate’s “positive message is resonating with Virginia voters.”
The poll showed both President Barack Obama and Gov. Tim Kaine have slipped in approval since February, though majorities of the 500 likely voters sampled still said they approved of Obama and Kaine’s job performance.
“It’s significant that Governor Kaine and President Obama are still very popular here,” said Virginia Democratic Party spokesman Jared Leopold. “Bob McDonnell’s own supporters are saying that McDonnell will fight to stop what Obama is doing in Washington.”
Leopold was referring to remarks by Virginia state Sen. Stephen Newman, R-Forest, who last month told a Lynchburg crowd that “what Obama is trying in Washington can be stanched” by a McDonnell victory.
