Is Deeds surging as election nears?

One week before the June 9 primary election, a new poll of the three-way Democratic gubernatorial race shows a tight contest.

The latest survey from Public Policy Polling shows state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, is favored by 27 percent of likely voters, putting him ahead of Terry McAuliffe (24 percent) and Brian Moran (22 percent). The poll indicates that 26 percent of likely voters remain undecided.

Deeds' advantage, however, is within the poll's 4.1 percent margin. What that means is support for Deeds appears to be rising, although he has not separated himself from the pack.

Today's results follow two other polls in recent weeks which have shown Deeds gaining ground after earlier projections that he could finish third in the field.

They also come after several state papers -- The Washington Post, The Martinsville Bulletin and The Bristol Herald Courier -- endorsed Deeds in recent weeks.

Those endorsements, coupled with anti-McAuliffe ads Moran has sponsored in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, factored into the latest results, according to a written statement about the poll findings.

In a prior survey, the polling firm found McAuliffe leading Deeds and Moran.

The poll surveyed 559 likely voters from May 28-31. On the final day of the survey, McAuliffe began airing television ads in Northern Virginia.

In the race for the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination, the poll shows Jody Wagner leading Mike Signer 27 percent to 11 percent, with 63 percent undecided.

A Virginia Beach resident, Wagner is a former state treasurer and finance secretary.

Signer, of Northern Virginia, is an author and national security expert who served as deputy counselor to then-Gov. Mark Warner.

UPDATE: As an alternative to the findings released today, Moran's campaign shared an internal poll showing the three candidates in a statistical dead heat. The Moran campaign e-mail also emphasized that McAuliffe "draws the highest unfavorable ratings in the field," according to the internal poll.

-- Julian Walker 

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