A second poll out today puts rural Virginian Creigh Deeds well ahead of rivals Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran. Deeds has taken off like a rocket, up 13 from the last Survey USA poll; what’s really astounding is that Deeds was in the mid-teens as recently as early May.
Typically obsessive coverage will be continuing today and tomorrow, but a Deeds matchup with Bob McDonnell will represent some unique opportunities and challenges for the GOP. Representing a very rural district, Deeds won’t be easily painted as a liberal out of the mainstream. But the guy’s fundraising has been horrific, and until the Washington Post endorsed him, he seemed to be fading into the background in this race.
Oh, and it has been 30 days since Creigh Deeds has hit any Virginians or bears with his car.
There’s some talk of a local “Operation Chaos” on the part of Republicans; I can’t endorse the concept. First, I think Republicans ought to pick Republican nominees and Democrats ought to pick Democrats; second, I don’t see any of the three Democrats as signficantly more beatable than the others. McAuliffe’s got the money but absolutely no experience (and his carnival-barker personality can grate); Deeds has extremely little cash on hand but has a decent amount of experience and should perform better outside northern Virginia. Brian Moran would seem to be the weaker of both worlds, not terribly flush with cash and seen as a liberal from the D.C. suburbs, but after today’s rally I think he may have some game in him.
Bob McDonnell is, so far, running a very strong campaign. He’s likely the favorite in the general election matchup. But until then, an exciting 24 more hours.