A new survey from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling out Wednesday shows a virtual tie in the Virginia Senate race between Democrat Tim Kaine and presumptive Republican nominee George Allen. Kaine leads Allen 46 percent to 45 percent.
Allen is polling much stronger than Mitt Romney in Virginia, where the former Massachusetts governor trails President Obama by 8 points in the last PPP presidential poll. Allen has a higher favorability in Virginia than Romney.
But PPP finds that Kaine may actually have more room to grow between now and November. PPP Director Tom Jensen writes:
In contrast to the Presidential race in the state, Kaine might actually be the candidate with more room to grow in this contest. Allen is taking 83% of Republicans, while Kaine gets just 77% of Democrats. One number in the poll that jumps out is Kaine leading only 68-21 with African Americans. He seems likely to do far better than that in November.
Jensen also predicts the Virginia Senate race will be “one of the closest, if not the closest” Senate races in 2012.
