Only time will tell if Thursday evening's campaign appearance by President Obama will help, but at the moment Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds is trailing Republican candidate Bob McDonnell by eight points, according to a Research 2000/Daily Kos poll conducted Aug. 3-Aug 5.
Fifty-one percent of those surveyed by telephone said they would support McDonnell for Virginia governor if the vote were held today, compared to 43 percent for Deeds. Only six percent of those polled said they were undecided.
McDonnell also leads Deeds in overall ratings, with 57 percent of those surveyed viewing him favorably to 46 percent for Deeds.
McDonnell polled better among both men and women than Deeds, but Deeds showed more strength in Northern Virginia and among young voters, aged 18-29, among black voters and among Hispanic voters. McDonnell, meanwhile, polled stronger in every part of the state except Northern Virginia and was favored by older, white voters.
Democrats are hoping that Obama's own strength in the state, which he won in the 2008 presidential contest and where he still enjoys a 51 percent approval rating, will help create some momentum for Deeds as the end of summer approaches.
But McDonnell won't be sitting idly by waiting to see if the numbers change before the Nov. 3 election. He's been enlisted by the national Republican Party to deliver the GOP response this week to the president's weekend radio address.
The survey of 600 likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
To follow all the 2009 and 2010 governors' races, check out CQ Politics' election map.)
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