Another day, yet another horrible poll.In the final days of the gubernatorial campaign, Robert McDonnell holds an 18‐point margin over his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds among likely voters in Virginia; 54% of likely voters support or lean to McDonnell, 36% support or lean to Deeds. A 56% majority of independents say they will vote for or lean to McDonnell while 29% of independents say they will vote for or lean to Deeds. Both candidates do well with rank‐and‐file members of their respective political parties. Fully 92% of Republicans support McDonnell, 5% support Deeds. Similarly, 81% of Democrats support Deeds, 10% support McDonnell. McDonnell holds a lead in all regions of the state.Other news from this poll:
*Barack Obama has a 49%-48% (+1) approval rating in Virginia.
*Tim Kaine has a 43%-57% (-14) approval rating.
*41% believe that Virginia's on the "right track" vs. 44% who say "wrong track"
*By a 52%-41% margin, Virginians rate the financial management of Virginia as "poor" or "fair."
*65% of Virginians believe it "really matters who wins" next Tuesday, while 28% think "things will be pretty much the same regardless."
*Voters believe that Bob McDonnell will do better than Creigh Deeds in handling economic development, the state budget shortfall, transportation and education. By a slight margin (40%-37%), voters give Creigh the edge on handling the environment.
*46% of Virginians consider themselves Democrats/Lean Democratic, 40% Republican/Lean Republican and 14% Independent/Refused to lean.
*26% of Virginians are following the governor's race "extremely closely" or "very closely," with 70% following it "somewhat closely" or "not too closely."
