Democrat Tim Kaine has moved slightly ahead of Republican George Allen in Virginia’s neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Virginia voters finds Kaine with 47 percent support to Allen’s 45 percent. Two percent like another candidate in the race, and six percent are undecided.
Virginia remains a toss-up in the Rasmussen Reports Senate Balance of Power rankings. The presidential race in the state also is still a Toss-Up.
Kaine and Allen, both former governors, were tied at 45 percent apiece late last month. They have been within two points of each other in surveys since last September.
Allen who hopes to reclaim the Senate seat he lost in 2006 to Democrat Jim Webb has the support of 83 percent of Virginia Republicans, while 94 percent of the state’s Democratic voters back Kaine. Among voters not affiliated with either of the major parties, Allen leads 47 percent to 36 percent. Webb chose not to seek reelection.
Kaine is viewed favorably by 50 percent of voters in the state and unfavorably by 43 percent. This includes 30 percent with a very favorable opinion of him and 25 percent with a very unfavorable one.
For Allen, favorables are 46 percent, and unfavorables are also 46 percent. Twenty-four percent (24 percent) regard him very favorably, 29 percent very unfavorably.
The survey of 500 likely voters in Virginia was conducted on September 13, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.
Fifty-three percent (53 percent) of Virginia voters regard their personal finances as good or excellent, while only 13 percent consider them poor. Thirty percent (30 percent) say those finances are getting better, but 35 percent think they’re getting worse.
Kaine leads among voters with a positive view of their personal finances, while Allen is ahead among the smaller group that describes their finances as poor.
Allen is ahead by five points among male voters but trails by seven among female voters. Fifty-seven percent (57 percent) of whites support the Republican, while 88 percent of blacks prefer the Democrat. Voters of other races are evenly divided.
Elections for 33 U.S. Senate seats will be held in November. See the latest numbers in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Republican Governor Bob McDonnell remains popular with Virginia voters. Fifty-nine percent (59 percent) approve of the job he is doing, while only 35 percent disapprove. This includes 33 percent who Strongly Approve of his job performance and 16 percent who Strongly Disapprove.
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