The new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of the Virginia Democratic primary for Governor, which is behind held this coming Tuesday, confirms other surveys that have shown state Sen. Creigh Deeds rising to the top — and that Terry McAuliffe has lost his position as the frontrunner.
The numbers: Deeds 30%, former state Del. Brian Moran 27%, and former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe 26%, within the ±5% margin of error. Two weeks ago, the Kos/R2K poll had it as McAuliffe 36%, Moran 22%, and Deeds 13%.
So what happened? McAuliffe had a big lead for quite a while, thanks in part to a big money advantage — and on top of that, nobody who had watched him on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton in 2008 would ever deny that he’s an energetic campaigner. But in recent weeks, Moran began attacking McAuliffe’s record in both politics and business, with the ultimate effect of making Deeds the biggest beneficiary in a three-way race.
