Politics & Government

Virginia Elections 2013: Democrats Lead in New Poll

Terry McAuliffe holds a 4-point lead over Ken Cuccinelli in the race for governor; the attorney general's race is in a near dead heat.

by William Callahan

Democrat Terry McAuliffe has a 4-point lead over Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the race to be the next governor of Virginia, according to new polls released Tuesday.

According to Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling organization, McAuliffe won 41 percent of survey takers compared to Cuccinelli’s 37 percent. Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis had 7 percent and 15 percent said they’re still undecided.

PPP’s last poll, administered in May, had McAuliffe leading by 5 percentage points.

Find out what's happening in Annandalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The poll, which surveyed 601 Virginia voters from July 11-14, has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Neither candidate did particularly well in the poll’s favorability ratings.

Find out what's happening in Annandalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Only 32 percent of voters had a favorable opinion of Cuccinelli, while 47 percent viewed him negatively. But McAuliffe was only viewed favorably by 34 percent of voters and unfavorably by 36 percent.

McAuliffe and Cuccinelli have gotten more aggressive in recent weeks, both launching attacks on the other on human rights and ethics issues.

The race for lieutenant governor isn't as tight, according to the poll.

State Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk), the Democratic candidate, leads Republican minister E.W. Jackson 42 percent to 35 percent.

Jackson, a surprise nominee out of the state GOP convention in May, has since come under fire since for what some call extreme views and rhetoric.

Only 15 percent of voters polled have a favorable opinion of Jackson at the moment, while 28 percent of voters viewed him unfavorably.

Northam had similar a similar number of favorable opinions, with 16 percent, but only 19 percent of voters viewed him unfavorably, nearly 10 percent less than Jackson.

Voters were still largely undecided on how they felt about both candidates, with 57 percent unsure of Jackson and 65 percent unsure of Northam.

The race for Attorney General, however, could be the closest of the year.

Democratic state Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) has a slight lead over GOP state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg), 38 percent to 36 percent.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here