Republican Panic Spreads as McAuliffe Opens 7 Point Lead Over Crazy Cuccinelli

Panic is spreading in the Republican Party as Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s lead is growing in the gubernatorial race, and Virginia looks to be trending more and more blue.

A Rasmussen poll released on September 6th shows Democrat Terry McAuliffe with a 7 point lead over Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia gubernatorial race. Republicans are desperate to hold on to the executive office in Virginia as they view it as a swing state for them, and if Hillary runs they’ve surely already lost Ohio.

McAuliffe has 45% support whereas oral-sex banner Cuccinelli only has 38%. Seven percent want someone else and 10% remain unsure.

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Real Clear Politics broke down the race giving McAuliffe a 7.7 advantage over Cuccinelli:

Rasmussen Reports
9/3 – 9/4 998 LV 45 38 McAuliffe +7
Emerson College*
8/23 – 8/28 653 RV 45 35 McAuliffe +10
Quinnipiac
8/14 – 8/19 1129 LV 48 42 McAuliffe +6

Republicans have been banking on keeping the Virginia governorship since this campaign began. Because of McAuliffe’s close ties to the Clintons many national observers have been trying to use the race in Virginia as a bit of tea leaf reading for 2016. The odds are that gubernatorial election is being shaped more by the fact that the Republican Party has once again shot itself in the foot by nominating a candidate that too radical to be elected.

McAuliffe appears to be in the process of building a solid lead, and if he does win, it will demonstrate that the Democratic carrying of the state in 2008 and 2012 wasn’t just an Obama effect. Virginia may be turning more blue, and this reason alone has given Republicans a great cause for panic in the Old Dominion.

More than anything, Cuccinelli has been dogged by his direct ties to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s scandal. Republicans threw everything they could at McAuliffe, and the Democrat has come out of the summer with his biggest lead of the entire campaign. If even a far from perfect Democrat like Terry McAuliffe can elected governor in Virginia, the message will be that the state’s days as in the red column may be long gone.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association