McAuliffe still leads, Deeds gaining slightly

Terry McAuliffe continues to hold a double-digit lead in the race for the Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination, but Creigh Deeds has made up some ground to make the race somewhat interesting, according to a SurveyUSA poll released Wednesday.

McAuliffe is at 37 percent among likely June 9 primary voters in the poll, with Deeds at 26 percent and Brian Moran at 22 percent. An April 29 poll had McAuliffe at 38 percent to 22 percent each for Deeds and Moran.

The small swing to Deeds seems to be coming in Central Virginia, where Deeds is getting 43 percent of the vote to 31 percent for McAuliffe and 15 percent for Moran.

Moran leads in Northern Virginia with 43 percent to 33 percent for McAuliffe and 10 percent for Deeds. McAuliffe’s strength is in the Tidewater area, where he is at 52 percent to 19 percent for Deeds and 16 percent for Moran.

McAuliffe also holds a slim lead in the Shenandoah Valley, at 34 percent to 33 percent for Deeds and 12 percent for Moran.

In the party-affiliation breakdown, McAuliffe leads among Democrats (41 percent McAuliffe, 25 percent Deeds, 22 percent Moran) and independents (30 percent McAuliffe, 26 percent Deeds, 24 percent Moran). Deeds leads among Republican voters who say they will cross over to vote in the Democratic primary (36 percent Deeds, 28 percent McAuliffe, 21 percent Moran).

– Story by Chris Graham