Suffolk University is out with a poll today, and it is another good sign for the Deeds campaign. From the Suffolk website:
Virginia voters give Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds (29 percent) a slight lead over opponents Terry McAuliffe (26 percent), and Brian Moran (23 percent), leading up to the June 9 Primary, with a significant 22 percent still undecided. The poll shows that all three candidates are within the statistical margin of error and any one of them could ultimately emerge as the Democrat to face Republican Bob McDonnell in November.
The race is close, and within the margin of error, but Creigh Deeds is peaking at the right time. He has seen his donations shoot up, and he is now on TV in the uber-expensive DC media market, covering Northern Virginia, whose television stations had been the sole domain of Terry McAuliffe's deep pockets.
The poll was conducted 6/1-3, and surveyed 500 likely Democratic primary voters. The margin of error was +/- 4.4%.
The breakdowns are as follows
Topline
Deeds 29%
McAuliffe 26%
Moran 23%
Undecided 22%
Men
Deeds 30%
McAuliffe 29%
Moran 20%
Undecided 19%
Women
Deeds 27%
Moran 26%
McAuliffe 23%
Undecided 24%
Whites
Deeds 32%
McAuliffe 25%
Moran 23%
Undecided 19%
Blacks
McAuliffe 28%
Deeds 25%
Moran 22%
Undecided 23%
Only among Afircan-American voters does Creigh Deeds trail. While this is an incontrovertibly important demographic, it's the only one where he doesn't enjoy some small advantage among the electorate. And as more and more voters swing toward Deeds, this number is sure to rise.
Meanwhile, yesterday's SUSA poll shows a slightly different story:
The latest poll found Deeds and Moran gaining ground at the expense of Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, who still leads with 35 percent of the vote. McAuliffe was polling at 37 percent a week ago. Deeds is now polling at 29 percent, compared with 26 percent last week. Moran gained 4 points in the past week, rising to 26 percent. Eleven percent of respondents remain undecided in the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent
So, the topline has the race at 37-29-26, favoring McAuliffe with Deeds in second place. The variance in results is certainly noticeable, and both sampled about 500 likely primary voters. It may have something to do with their screen for likely voters, or perhaps that Suffolk used live polling while the SUSA poll is automated. But what was really interesting was the SUSA matchups against McDonnell:
McDonnell 44%
Deeds 43%
Undec 13%
McDonnell 47%
McAuliffe 40%
Undec 12%
McDonnell 48%
Moran 37%
Undec 15%
Deeds is only a point behind McDonnell, while his opponent do not fare nearly as well. This underscores a big reason why so many of us support Creigh Deeds--he came within 360 votes of Bob McDonnell four years ago, and he can beat him this time around. Please join us in backing the best candidate for the job: Creigh Deeds.
You can donate to him at deedsforvirginia.com, and you can see his latest TV ad, running in Northern Virginia, here: