McDonnell Leads Deeds by Double Digits, Virginia Poll Shows

Republican candidate Bob McDonnell is going into Tuesday's election with a healthy, double-digit lead over his Democratic opponent in the Virginia gubernatorial race, a new poll shows.

A Richmond Times-Dispatch poll released Sunday showed McDonnell leading Creigh Deeds by 53-to-41 percent. Six percent were undecided.

The survey is consistent with other recent polls that have shown McDonnell with a seemingly unshakable advantage over Deeds. President Obama campaigned for Deeds for last week, but has since turned his focus to the New Jersey gubernatorial election, where Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine is locked in a much tighter race against Republican Chris Christie.

The latest Virginia poll suggests Deeds was not able to get much traction out of McDonnell's uncovered law-school thesis, which criticized working women as being detrimental to families.

The poll showed Deeds' unfavorable rating was 42 percent, which exceeded his favorable rating.
Fifty-one percent of those polled had a favorable view of McDonnell.

The poll was based on interviews with 625 likely voters last Wednesday and Thursday. The margin of error was 4 percentage points.