Former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe has a 3-point edge in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, according to a new survey released Monday by right-leaning Rasmussen Reports.
The poll — the first time Rasmussen tested the race — showed McAuliffe claiming the support of 44 percent of likely voters in the Commonwealth, while Republican state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli trailed with 41 percent.
It was the latest in a string of recent polls that have shown the Democrat with the upper-hand in the race. A survey conducted late last month by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found McAuliffe up by 5 points, prompting Cuccinelli’s campaign to mock the results by releasing findings from a parody pollster dubbed Republican Republican Republican (RRR).
Following the release of Rasmussen’s findings, PPP director Tom Jensen couldn’t resist needling the Cuccinelli camp on Twitter:
I wonder how Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign pollsters RRR will respond to these new Rasmussen numbers: rasmussenreports.com/public_content…
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) June 10, 2013
The PollTracker Average currently shows McAuliffe with a 6-point lead over Cuccinelli.