f U.S. Sen. Mark Warner wants to be governor of Virginia again in 2013, he would begin the campaign as the overwhelming favorite, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. If Warner does not want another four years in the Executive Mansion in Richmond, Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee Chair, and Republicans Bill Bolling, the lieutenant governor, and Ken Cuccinelli, the state attorney general, start off basically even.
Warner, who says he will decide whether to run for governor or remain in the U.S. Senate by Thanksgiving, tops Lt. Gov. Bolling 53 - 33 percent and beats Attorney General Cuccinelli 52 - 34 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey finds.
If McAuliffe is the Democratic candidate, he would get 38 percent to 36 percent for Bolling, and 41 percent to 37 percent for Cuccinelli.
"If Sen. Mark Warner decides to run, he begins the campaign as the prohibitive favorite," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "He is much better known and much better liked than either of the Republican aspirants and his job approval rating - 60 percent - is the highest of any statewide elected official.
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From November 8 - 12, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,469 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-centers/polling-institute/virginia/release-detail?ReleaseID=1813
