Virginia Gov: McDonnell Leads Deeds

By CQ-Roll Call Staff | August 4, 2009 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Republican Bob McDonnell has a double-digit lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Nov. 3 contest for the Virginia governorship, according to a poll taken last weekend and released Tuesday.

The Public Policy Polling survey has McDonnell, a former state attorney general, leading Deeds, a state senator, by a margin of 51 percent to 37 percent.

The survey, which was taken from July 31 to Aug. 3 of 579 Virginia voters, gives McDonnell a big lead over Deeds among self-described political independents, 52 percent to 33 percent.

McDonnell has an approval rating of 54 percent and a disapproval rating of 26 percent. Deeds has a lower approval rating (43 percent) and a higher disapproval rating (32 percent).

Deeds hasn't yet solidified African-American support around his campaign. He is crushing McDonnell among African-Americans by 64 percent to 3 percent, but one-third of black voters say they are undecided. Black voters usually give 90 percent or more of their votes to Democratic candidates.

CQ Politics assigned an initial rating of Tossup to the Virginia governor's race, though that rating will be re-evaluated in light of recent surveys that give McDonnell the edge. A SurveyUSA poll last week had McDonnell up by 55 percent to 40 percent.

To follow the 2009 and 2010 governors' races, check out CQ Politics' election map.

--Greg Giroux

Next: Health Care Ad Wars Heat Up as Recess Begins
Previous: Tinklenberg Out of Minnesota 6 Race