The first serious poll since the Quinnipiac poll (9/9-9/15) which had McAuliffe up 3 points. Believe it or not, the last Washington Post poll was in early May (!), and at that point it had Ken Cuccinelli up 10 points. So…this poll marks a swing towards Terry McAuliffe since early May of 18 points. Not sure if I believe that, but that’s what it says. My guess on this race? Closer than 8 points, probably more like 4-6 points. But whatever it is, it’s too close for comfort, so everybody get phonebanking/door knocking/etc!
Democrat Terry McAuliffe has vaulted into the lead over Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II in a Virginia governor’s race that has left many voters sour on both candidates, according to a new Washington Post/Abt-SRBI poll.
McAuliffe leads 47 percent to 39 percent among likely voters, with Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis’s 10 percent suggesting an unrest among voters not satisfied with either major-party contender. In a one-on-one matchup without Sarvis in the mix, the poll shows a narrower, 49-44 race between McAuliffe and Cuccinelli among likely voters – but still flips Cuccinelli’s 10-point lead from this spring.
Also note, Terry McAuliffe has not trailed in any poll since mid July, but that was Roanoke College’s polling outfit, which is a complete joke. So, the last real poll T-Mac trailed in was NBC/Maris in early May (Cooch +3). Since then, it’s been all T-Mac.
UPDATE: Also a new NBC/Marist poll has McAuliffe up 5 points (43%-38%) with Sarvis at 8%. “The numbers are a reversal from May, the last time Marist polled the race, when Cuccinelli led 45-42 percent. “
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