Moran gaining ground?

Former Alexandria Del. Brian Moran has a razor thin lead in the latest poll of voter support for the three Democrats seeking their party's gubernatorial nomination.

Moran is favored by 22 percent of voters, according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey of likely voters.

Rivals Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chairman, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, recorded 18 and 15 percent support respectively.

Those results represent a shift from a previous poll done by the firm.

"Brian Moran has taken the lead this month after Terry McAuliffe had it last month," Public Policy Polling president Dean Debnam said in a written statement about the poll results. "But all the movement is within the margin of error, and this remains a very close three-way race."

The survey of 740 likely Democratic primary voters conducted March 27-29 has a 3.6 percent margin of error; 45 percent of respondents remain undecided about how they will vote.

In the lieutenant governor's race, the poll found that former state finance secretary and longtime South Hampton Roads resident Jody Wagner has a sizable lead over the other three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for that office.

Wagner notched 21 percent support in the poll, while Russell County supervisor Jon Bowerbank; Virginia Beach School Board member Pat Edmonson; and Mike Signer, former deputy counsel to then-Gov. Mark Warner, each polled at 4 percent.

More than two-thirds of potential primary voters -- 67 percent -- in that race are undecided.

The primary election is scheduled for June. 9.

-- Julian Walker

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.