That didn't take long

One of the enduring axioms of politics is that polls typically tighten after a primary race, regardless of which party is leading before the election.

And Virginia's race for governor doesn't seem to be an exception to that rule.

Just two days after state Sen. Creigh Deeds won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the June 9 primary election he has pulled ahead of Republican nominee Bob McDonnell in a new poll.

A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey conducted after Deeds' primary win gives the Bath County Democrat a six-point lead over McDonnell, 47 percent to 41 percent.

Several polls conducted prior to Tuesday's election showed McDonnell beating Deeds, and his Democratic primary rivals Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran, in hypothetical matchups.

McDonnell narrowly beat Deeds in the 2005 attorney general election -- the Republican from Virginia Beach won by 360 votes in a recount.

-- Julian Walker

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