Deeds holds lead in latest primary polls

Two new polls indicate that Sen. R. Creigh Deeds is the clear favorite to win Tuesday’s three-way Democratic primary for governor.

One poll - conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of WJLA-TV in Washington - found that Deeds’ support has surged from 22 percent in late April to 42 percent today.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has seen his support drop from 38 percent to 30 percent. He now ranks second in the SurveyUSA poll.

Brian Moran, a former member of the House of Delegates, comes in third, with 21 percent.

Only 7 percent of the poll’s 535 respondents said they were undecided. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

Sunday night, another poll indicated that Deeds had jumped to a 14-point lead over his rivals.

The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling (PDF), found that Deeds was favored by 40 percent of likely primary voters, compared with 26 percent for McAuliffe and 24 percent for Moran.

In a statement today, Deeds’ campaign manager, Joe Abbey, called the latest polling data “incredible.”

“We have great momentum going into the final hours, but every vote will count,” he said. “There are still undecided voters and they will determine the winner of this election.

“Time and time again, the critics said we were done,” he continued. “People were writing us off. But, together, we refused to be counted out.”

Deeds, who lives in Bath County, represents the Charlottesville region in the Virginia Senate.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face GOP nominee Bob McDonnell in the general election Nov. 3.

Polling places open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.