Barely five weeks after former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen announced he was running for the U.S. Senate, a Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll has been released that shows he currently enjoys a commanding lead in the race.
With only three candidates who have officially thrown their hats in the ring, 67% of Virginians polled said their top choice would be George Allen over tea party challenger Jamie Radtke who came in at 4% and David McCormick at 3%.
Two others who have been mentioned as possible candidates were also polled with Del. Bob Marshall receiving 7% and Corey Stewart coming in at 3%.
PPP, noting they have polled throughout the country, wrote:
Perhaps George Allen’s strength is that he is remembered by many Virginians as a conservative leader during his years serving the citizens of the Commonwealth. Though his tea party challenger has tried to paint him as a liberal, the poll said that 69% of Republicans think he’s “about right” ideologically compared to 9% who consider him too liberal and 9% who think he’s too conservative. A whopping 68% of primary voters have a favorable opinion of him compared to 15% with an unfavorable opinion.
Though it is early in this race, the poll seems to confirm that Virginians are still eager to have George Allen in leadership. Indeed, Virginia blogger and numbers cruncher Shaun Kenney looked at the poll numbers, writing:
Sen. Jim Webb announced in February he would not seek reelection and Democrats have not named a candidate although the front runner appears to be former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. A March 1st PPP poll revealed a dead heat if Allen and Kaine were the candidates, and a race between the two former governors would surely make the Commonwealth a battleground state during the 2012 U.S. Senate-Presidential cycle.
