Deeds' Gains Among Women Narrow Va. Governor's Race

2 years ago

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The polls have swung back and forth in the Virginia governor's race when it comes to whether it's close or not, and now a new Washington Post survey of likely voters, conducted Sept. 14-17, comes down on the side of "close" with former Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the Republican, holding a small 51 percent to 47 percent lead over Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds. The margin of error is 3 points.

McDonnell had a 15 point margin over Deeds in mid-August in the Post's polling.

On what has become one of the big issues in the campaign – McDonnell's 1989 graduate thesis criticizing homosexuals and working mothers as detrimental to families – 58 percent say the views he expressed then won't affect their decision on how to vote, 30 percent say they are less likely to vote for him and 11 percent are in the "more likely" category.

But Deeds has hammered McDonnell hard on the issue and the survey shows that independent women, who favored McDonnell by 59 percent to 31 percent earlier, now support Deeds 50 percent to 47 percent. Forty-eight percent trust Deeds on issues of special concern to women compared to 38 percent for McDonnell.

Both men have generated high enthusiasm for their candidacies, with 82 percent of Deeds supporters and 89 percent of McDonnell backers describing themselves that way.

The political ideologies of both are considered "just about right" by 47 percent, while 42 percent consider Deeds too liberal and 40 percent say McDonnell is too conservative.

The issues in the campaign on which McDonnell bests Deeds by the biggest margins are transportation, gun control, the state budget, the economy and jobs and taxes. Deeds leads on the issues of health care and education as far as who voters trust more.

However, voters are split on who they trust more to handle the issue of abortion, with Deeds having a 44 percent to 42 percent edge. That's a turnaround from August when McDonnell led Deeds by five points.

Those polled say, by 50 percent to 45 percent, that McDonnell would be a more effective lead and by 50 percent to 43 percent that McDonnell "more closely shares your values." They are statistically tied and the questions of who is more honest and trustworthy and who "better understands the problems of people like you."

Filed Under: Polls, Governors, Poll Watch

Tagged: bob mcdonnell, BobMcdonnell, creigh deeds, CreighDeeds, Daily Guidance, DailyGuidance, virginia governor race, VirginiaGovernorRace

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