Roanoke College Poll shows McAuliffe with 15-point lead

Published October 30, 2013 by Robert Powell, III

Democrat Terry McAuliffe has opened a 15-point lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli, in the Virginia governor’s face, according to the Roanoke College Poll.

The poll of 838 likely voters showed McAuliffe leading 46 percent to 31 percent while 14 percent of voters remained undecided.

Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis claimed 9 percent of respondents.

The poll, released Wednesday, contrasted with two other polls released the same day. The Quinnipiac University poll showed McAuliffe with only a four percentage point lead while a Hampton University poll showed the Democrat with a six-point lead.

The Roanoke poll interviewed voters in Virginia between October 21 and October 27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

In the down-ticket races, the poll showed Democrat Ralph Northam leading Republican E. W. Jackson for lieutenant governor (Northam—48 percent, Jackson—32 percent, Undecided—20 percent), and, for the first time,  Democrat Mark Herring opening a significant lead over Republican Mark Obenshain for attorney general (Herring—46 percent, Obenshain—35 percent, Undecided—19 percent).