In [the] election for Virginia Governor today, 10/05/09, one month until votes are counted, Republican Bob McDonnell defeats Democrat Creigh Deeds, 54% to 43%. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll one week ago, Deeds has gained ground among women, among voters age 50 to 64, and in Southeast VA...So, it's good that Creigh has gained a bit of ground among those three groups, and also good that he's closed the gap with McDonnell a bit from 55%-41% a week ago to 54%-43% today. However, SurveyUSA concludes, the bottom line is that "4 Weeks Until Votes Are Counted, Republicans Remain Poised to Win 3 Top Statewide Contests." Not good.
The news is even worse for Lieutenant Governor, where Jody Wagner has actually lost ground to Bill Bolling over the past week and now trails by 17 points, 57%-40% (compared to 54%-41% a week ago). According to SurveyUSA, "Bolling is consolidating support among men, where he now leads 2:1, and among more educated Virginians, where he now leads 3:2." Blech.
Finally, the news for Steve Shannon is better than for Wagner but certainly not great (or even good), with Cooch leading by 10 points (53%-43%). According to SurveyUSA, "the complexion of the is contest is largely unchanged," with "offsetting gender movement: men drifting to the Republican, women drifting to the Democrat." Also blech.
