Va. Poll Gives Mark Warner Wide Lead in Senate Race

2007-10-12

Source: Washington Post

Former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner holds a 30-point lead over his two potential Republican rivals in next year's U.S. Senate race, boosting Democrats' chances of expanding their congressional majority and highlighting the party's ascendancy in the state, according to a new Washington Post poll.

Warner, a Democrat who announced his candidacy last month, would get more than 60 percent of the vote in a hypothetical matchup against Rep. Thomas M. Davis III or former governor James S. Gilmore III, the two Republicans who have indicated they are considering running against him.

The Senate race will unfold against the backdrop of next year's presidential campaign, and the poll suggests that the state's 13 electoral votes could be up for grabs. By a margin of 11 percentage points, Virginians would prefer that the next president be a Democrat, indicating that even a reliably red state could flip in 2008.

The election is 13 months away, and other Senate candidates could emerge. But the new numbers could dampen the GOP's hopes for keeping the seat, held since 1979 by Sen. John W. Warner, who is retiring, along with three other Senate Republicans.

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