Rasmussen: McDonnell 51, Deeds 42

A new poll from Rasmussen Reports has Bob McDonnell reopening a healthy lead over Creigh Deeds in the Virginia governor’s race.

The Rasmussen poll has McDonnell with a 51 percent-to-42 percent lead over Deeds. Deeds had narrowed the McDonnell lead two weeks ago to a 48 percent-to-46 percent margin.

A Public Policy Polling survey released on Tuesday had the McDonnell lead at 48 percent to 43 percent for Deeds.

The Rasmussen survey was of 500 likely voters and was conducted on Tuesday. The PPP poll was of 576 likely voters and was conducted from Friday, Sept. 25, to Monday, Sept. 28.

The bad poll news comes on the heels of a story circulating in Democratic circles today that the Democratic National Committee is reportedly holding on to its $5 million financial commitment to the Deeds campaign out of concern that the Deeds campaign has focused too much of its attention on the controversial Bob McDonnell 1989 grad-school thesis setting out a hardline social-conservative political agenda for his budding political career and not enough on putting down a framework for what a Deeds administration would do for Virginia.

The Rasmussen internals would seem to suggest a more favorable climate for Democrats generally this fall than the McDonnell-Deeds number would indicate. President Barack Obama had a 52 percent approval rating among the Virginia voters surveyed, and Gov. Tim Kaine, who is also the chair of the DNC, had a 59 percent approval rating among those surveyed.

McDonnell’s approval rating in the poll was at 53 percent. Deeds’ approval rating was at 46 percent.

– Story by Chris Graham