SurveyUSA is out with their latest poll of the Democratic primary, and it shows that state Sen. Creigh Deeds has emerged as the primary alternative to former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe leads the field, but Creigh Deeds has moved into a strong second and is now within striking distance of the lead.
The poll, conducted on behalf of WDBJ-7 in Roanoke shows McAuliffe with a solid, but hardly insurmountable lead with twenty days to go:
If the Democratic Primary for Virginia Governor were today, who would you vote for? (candidate names rotated) Creigh Deeds? Terry McAuliffe? Or Brian Moran?
26% Deeds
37% McAuliffe
22% Moran
14% Other / Undecided
Deeds also ties McAuliffe in polling strongest against Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. While McDonnell leads all three candidates, his margin against Deeds and McAuliffe is only 46-40, while he enjoys a 47-37 advantage over former state Del. Brian Moran.
All three of these men are good people, and all of them would be vastly preferable to former state AG Bob McDonnell, who has no opposition for the Republican nod. The question now is who we want. I like Terry Mc Auliffe, unlike many, and I think he has done good things for the party. But he's never held elective office, he's never been involved in state Democratic politics, and he is just too polarizing a figure.
Similarly, Brian Moran's rapid downward trajectory has been a result of the undeniably disgraceful campaign he has run. Negative, hypocritical, and falling flat at every turn, it is a poor indicator of who he is, because I know him to have been a strong Democrat we can be proud of. It is my hope that if he runs again, he will do so in a manner more reflective of his service to the commonwealth.
So the race question turns to which Democrat we want more in Richmond: Terry McAuliffe or Creigh Deeds. I don't share the animus toward Terry that many folks here feel--indeed, I like his fighting spirit, and I have no doubt that he would scrap and fight with the inevitable mud coming from a hungry VA GOP that has gone from strongly dominant to sad punchline in a short nine years.
But I don't see how Terry wins this race. Unlike Sen. Deeds, he has an extremely polarizing effect not just on the general electorate, but even on the Democratic base. He has nothing on his résumé that cries out for a promotion to the highest office in the commonwealth. He talks a good ball game, but as I've said in the past, there's just no "there" there.
Sen. Creigh Deeds has a record of fighting for this party and this great commonwealth. When I was in Young Democrats and he was a member of the House of Delegates, he always made time for the YDs, he always came to the party functions, and he never shied away from his partisan affiliation despite representing a conservative district. He was the driving force behind Megan's Law in Virginia. In the 2008 legislative session, Senator Deeds fought for $122 million in funds for pre-k education. At a time when college education is paradoxically most necessary and least affordable, Senator Deeds has supported freezing in-state tuition and fees and has proposed additional funding for student loans.
Brian Moran is a good man, and probably still has great things to do for the commonwealth, but this just is not turning out to be his year. Terry McAuliffe could very well be the right man for the job after some sort of record of fighting either for the state party (not just on a national level), or by getting involved in Virginia races not just through his wallet, but through organization or as a candidate himself. But the time for Creigh Deeds to be our governor is now.
On June 9th, he'll have my vote, and I hope he'll have yours too.