Former Sen. George Allen (R-VA), perhaps best remembered for blowing a seemingly guaranteed re-election bid in 2006, appears to be Virginia Republicans’ clear preference for the 2012 Senate race, according to a newly released Public Policy Polling survey.
When asked who they would like as the race’s Republican nominee, 46% of respondents expressed support for Allen. The former one-term Senator’s political career appeared to collapse in 2006 after calling a staffer of Sen. Jim Webb by the racial epithet “macaca.” House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, an unlikely Senate contender, sits in second with 18%, while the state’s conservative Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli comes in third at 16%.
A PPP survey released yesterday found Allen trailing Webb in a hypothetical 2012 matchup, 49%-45%. He fares about the same (50%-44%) in the case that Webb opts out of a re-election bid and Gov. Tim Kaine runs as the Democratic nominee.
The margin of error for the latest survey is ±4.9 percentage points.
