With two days to go in the state’s gubernatorial race, Virginia voters are coming home to GOP nominee Bob McDonnell. That’s according to numbers from an important new poll published in state newspapers today.
McDonnell has led Democratic nominee Creigh Deeds since June, a lead that has extended to double digits in recent days. But polls also showed many were still undecided in the race, giving Democrats hope for a Deeds upset Tuesday. The new numbers show those undecided voters have made up their minds — and they’ve decided to vote for McDonnell.
McDonnell’s lead has grown with the new support. He now dominates Deeds in the Mason-Dixon Poll, 53-41.
Deeds’ numbers haven’t moved since the last Mason-Dixon poll, published in early October. Back then, McDonnell led Deeds 48-40 in the poll, seen by many observers in Virginia as among the most accurate predictors of actual Election Day results.
Since that early October poll, McDonnell has seen his lead grow thanks to shrinking numbers of undecided voters. Twelve percent of likely voters had not yet made up their minds in the race, according to those numbers. Between then and now, that number shrank to six percent, giving McDonnell his new 12-point lead.
There’s more good news for Republicans this weekend. According to the influential non-partisan political blog Virginia Tomorrow, Democrats are expecting their nominees to lose all three statewide contests on the ballot Tuesday, handing control of most of the state government to the GOP one year after President Obama won the state and Virginia’s Democratic governor, Tim Kaine, was chosen to lead the DNC.
