VA-Gov: PPP Shows McAuliffe Surging

[jefferson_dem]

VA-Gov: PPP Shows McAuliffe Surging
by Arjun Jaikumar

Tue May 05, 2009 at 06:02:04 PM PDT

PPP's fourth poll of the Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia now shows a clear front-runner, and significant momentum for former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe.

Public Policy Polling. 5/1-3. Registered voters. MoE 3.9%. (March numbers)

Democratic Primary

Terry McAuliffe 30 (18)
Brian Moran 20 (22)
Creigh Deeds 14 (15)

There's not much more than a month to go before the primary, and the recent SurveyUSA poll also shows McAuliffe with a substantial lead (16 points). Perhaps most notable from this poll is that while all three candidates have exceptional favorables, McAuliffe's have gone up considerably in the past month, from 32/29 favorable/unfavorable to 42/25.

McAuliffe has a great advantage in financial resources, but he also benefits from a strong organization, prominent surrogates like President Clinton and will.i.am, and a consistent, unrelenting message focusing on job creation.

If the two polls are to be believed, McAuliffe has to be considered the front-runner at the moment. There's plenty of time for that to change - Creigh Deeds went up with his first two ads yesterday, and they're both good.

Nevertheless, McAuliffe is the front-runner at this point, and he's in a very strong position to be the Democratic nominee in June.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/5/728008/-VA-Gov:-PPP-Shows-McAuliffe-Surging

[whistler162]

1. Good as long as he stays in Virginia and

doesn't return to New York!

[brentspeak]

3. Bad for Virginia, though

Virginia doesn't deserve this DLC-stooge.

[kaygore]

4. I went reluctantly to hear him speak to a small group in a diner

early in his campaign. I felt the same way as you, but I left extremely impressed. The group in the diner was largely Black as we were in a rural peanut growing community west of Hampton Roads.

One of the first questions concerned his support of Hillary Clinton. McAuliffe noted that he is a personal friend of the Clintons and felt that he needed to support Hillary out of loyalty but he thought that she would be a good president.

However, McAuliffe noted that it was he as head of the DNC who had Obama give the speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004 that launched his national career. And that as soon as Hillary decided to stop her campaign, McAuliffe immediately went to work to get Obama elected.

Even if the other two Democratic candidates had even a ghost of a chance to beat the Republican candidate, I would still be supporting McAuliffe because he has passion, great vision, a track record of making vision a reality, and, he will call the dumb ass Republican General Assembly of Virginia out for their obstructionist ways.

Don't pity us. We are blessed that Terry McAuliffe wants to be our governor. And I say this as a rabid anti-Hillary person who walked over 500 miles volunteering for Obama. Also as a person who says that Clinton was the best Republican president since Eisenhower!

[blm]

12. McAuliffe lied then. Kerry tapped Obama to be keynote speaker. McAuliffe WOULD lie about that

to a black audience.

[AtomicKitten]

14. link here:

* snip *

Senator John F. Kerry, who gave Barack Obama his first big national stage and then a key endorsement, praised the new president's bold agenda in the first 100 days, comparing him to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.

Kerry picked Obama to give the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004 when he accepted the presidential nomination and is now the news chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/04/kerry_touts_oba_1.html

[blm]

15. McAuliffe taking credit for what Kerry did while he put his 4yr pisspoor stewardship of DNC

and all its failures onto Kerry after 2004. Kerry would have had a landslide if McAuliffe's DNC had worked for 4yrs after 2000s theft to get all Dem votes allowed, cast and counted for 2002 and 2004 elections.

[AtomicKitten]

16. It takes chutzpah but not at all surprising

coming from that wing of the party, and it's a crying shame knowing how different things would have been.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

9. Stooge is right.

[Joe the Revelator]

2. Ugh...I love VA...cut my political teeth working on the Warner campaign...hate to see McCaliffe...

...ruin the last eight years worth of hard democratic work.

[kaygore]

5. Yes, and Warner has done such a great job being a Blue Dog,

hasn't he.

When my lobbyist cousin-in-law was all gung ho for Warner, I knew that disappointment would be the result. Sure enough, Warner has sided with the wealthy special interests and is a proud Blue Dog! Thank God for Webb, an honest and good man!

[Joe the Revelator]

8. Warner has been a great representitive for VA.

He always said he was fiscally conservative, and socially liberal. Thats exactly as he governed. He created a democratic rennasaunce in VA, and I'll be happy to support his Presidential campaign in 2016

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Warner votes with the Democrats more than Webb does

[wisteria]

6. McAuliffe is just an awful person. I feel sorry for Virginia. He will sever himself first than

perhaps Virginia.

[angee_is_mad]

7. Oh No!!!!

damn, damn, damn!

[AtomicKitten]

11. As part of the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party, McAuliffe has

a giant pile of cash behind him and a sense of entitlement.

[960]

13. Wonderful to hear.

[countingbluecars]

17. This is not good news.

I don't think he has a chance of winning in the general election.

[skipos]

19. I place the odds of him winning the GE at about 30%

I think VA always picks a Gov that is in the opposite party as the President, so they will probably continue the trend.

He is a crappy general election candidate imo. It is always weird to me when the primary voters rally around the worst candidate.

[Capt. America]

18. McAuliffe did such a good job as head of the DNC. Fail.