Toss-Up in Virginia Governor's Race? New Poll Says No

On the heels of a Rasmussen poll showing the Virginia governor's race moving into the toss-up category, a new Research 2000/Daily Kos survey conducted Sept. 14-16 tells another story, putting former Attorney General Bob McDonnell ahead of state Sen. Creigh Deeds, 50 percent to 43 percent with 7 percent undecided. The margin of error is four points.

Rasmussen's poll had showed Deeds, a Democrat, drawing within two points of Republican McDonnell, well within the margin of error, after trailing him in previous surveys by margins ranging from five to nine points.

In the Research 2000 poll, McDonnell holds a 13-point lead among independents. He draws 15 percent of Democrats while Deeds only polls 5 percent among Republicans. McDonnell is seen favorably by 56 percent and unfavorably by 40 percent, while Deeds' favorable-to-unfavorable ratio is 47 percent to 42 percent.

Deeds and Creigh engaged yesterday in what the Washington Post called an "aggressive" debate, and you can read the story here.