Democrat Ralph Northam has a five-point lead on Republican Ed Gillespie in the race for the open Virginia governor job, according to a poll released Monday by the University of Mary Washington.
Northam, the sitting lieutenant governor, is at 44 percent in the race, with Gillespie, the former Republican National Committee chair and 2014 U.S. Senate nominee, at 39 percent.
Libertarian Cliff Hyra was at 3 percent in the polling.
Democrats also have steady leads down ticket. Lieutenant governor nominee Justin Fairfax has a 45-40 lead on Republican State Sen. Jill Vogel, and Attorney General Mark Herring has a 47-40 lead on Republican nominee John Adams.
The 1,000-person survey of Virginia adults was conducted for UMW by Princeton Survey Research Associates International Sept. 5-12.
Back at the top of the ticket, Northam is running strongest, not surprisingly, in Northern Virginia, where he leads Gillespie 55-27. Gillespie has a 48-38 lead on Northam in Western Virginia.
The race is tighter in Northwest Virginia (Gillespie has a 48-40 lead), Central Virginia (Northam has a 45-40 lead) and Tidewater (the two candidates are tied at 41.)