My home state...thank you very much!
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.
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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.
In the Senate race, Warner leads Gilmore 61 percent to 31 percent, a 2 to 1 margin replicated in nearly every region of the state. Warner leads (Tom)Davis 63 percent to 28 percent. In vote-rich Fairfax County, where Davis argues that he would have more appeal than some recent statewide GOP candidates, Warner is up by 24 percentage points over the congressman (57 percent to 33 percent).
Gilmore and Davis say they are confident that Warner's lead will significantly diminish as the race heats up.
Warner's large advantages are a testament to his broad popularity, voters' unfamiliarity with his likeliest opponents and the state's current Democratic trend.
"He seems to have it all together," said Diane Ward, 56, an independent from Roanoke. "There are times when I don't vote because there is no one I feel comfortable voting for, but I feel comfortable with him."
Warner has a 67 percent favorability rating, and his appeal crosses party lines.
More than 7 in 10 Democrats have a favorable impression of the former governor, as do 69 percent of independents and 61 percent of the state's Republicans. Even 4 in 10 self-described conservatives said they would vote for Warner, who was elected governor in 2001 as a pro-gun Democrat who appealed to voters in traditionally GOP counties.
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