Exact numbers are still not out, but the spreads are being teased:
A poll commissioned by WJLA-TV found former Virginia Governor Mark Warner would easily defeat any likely Republican opponent if the election to replace retiring Senator John Warner (R-VA) were held now. The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, found Mark Warner would defeat northern Virginia Congressman Tom Davis by 35 points, former Governor Jim Gilmore by 28 points, and former Senator George Allen by 19 points. The poll interviewed 900 Virginia adults between September 14 and September 16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent [...]
Of the 783 registered voters polled, Mark Warner was the most favored of the four. Fifty percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of the former Governor, compared with 40 percent for Allen, 19 percent for Gilmore, and 13 percent for Davis. Davis is the only candidate to not have run for statewide office. Forty-six percent of respondents reported they were unfamiliar with Davis.
19 pecent favorability for Gilmore, who has universal name recognition in the state? Sheesh. I gues the people of the Commonwealth haven't forgiven him for making a disaster out of their state during his tenure as governor. At least Davis has the excuse that few people know who he is outside of his House district.
At this point, one of the dangers is that Davis decides that it's not worth the slog for him to run for Senate and he stays in the House. If he vacates that seat we have a great chance of picking it up. On the plus side, Davis' low name ID means he probably has the best chance to make up ground on Warner, which could motivate him to challenge Warner after alll.