Poll: McDonnell leads Deeds by three

Republican Bob McDonnell has a three-point lead on Democrat Creigh Deeds in the 2009 Virginia governor’s race, according to a poll out today from Rasmussen Reports.
The poll has McDonnell at 44 percent and Deeds at 41 percent. Rasmussen had Deeds ahead by a 47 percent-to-41 percent margin after the June 9 Democratic Party primary.

The switch is the likely result of a shift in emphases on public-relations strategies of the two sides. The McDonnell campaign has been up on the air for the past few weeks with an aggressive for the summer TV ad campaign, while the Deeds campaign has gone into the usual PR hibernation expected of a statewide effort in the mid-summer to focus on fundraising for the fall.

Inside the numbers:

– McDonnell has the support of 85 percent of self-identified Republican voters, while Deeds has the support of 79 percent of Democratic voters.

– Fifty percent of the voters surveyed have a favorable view of McDonnell, while 27 percent regard him unfavorably. Deeds is seen favorably by 49 percent and unfavorably by 35 percent. McDonnell’s numbers have basically not moved since the June Rasmussen survey, but Deeds’ favorables were down 10 percent.

– Mark Warner continues to be by far the most popular politician in Virginia, with a 64 percent/32 percent unfavorable rating. Tim Kaine is viewed favorably by 48 percent, and his job-approval rating was at 55 percent in the polling. President Barack Obama’s job-approval rating was at 51 percent in the polling.

More here.

– Story by Chris Graham