The latest Washington Post poll of the Virginia Senate race confirms something we’ve known for awhile now:
Republican James S. Gilmore III has gained no ground in his U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat Mark R. Warner, according to a new Washington Post poll, despite Gilmore’s attempts in recent weeks to hammer Warner for his support of the financial rescue plan.
Gilmore trails Warner among likely voters, 61 percent to 31 percent. The 30-point spread is identical to a Post poll last month and virtually the same as one conducted in October 2007.
Gilmore and Warner, both former governors, are vying to replace retiring Republican Sen. John W. Warner in a race that has been overshadowed by the battle for Virginia in the presidential election.
The poll shows that support for Warner in Northern Virginia, the Democrat’s home base, far exceeds Gilmore’s: 65 percent to 28 percent. His lead is almost 2 to 1 in all other regions of the state. Warner leads 58 percent to 36 percent in rural areas, traditional Republican strongholds where he has made significant inroads.
More than six in 10 voters polled believe Warner’s views on most issues are ideologically aligned with theirs. Fewer than four in 10 think Gilmore’s positions are about right.
Numbers like these are the reason that Warner has started running ads urging voters to vote for Barack Obama, and, so far, it seems like there will in fact be a “reverse coattails effect” in the Old Dominion.
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