Rasmussen: McAuliffe +17 points - UPDATED

Rasmussen Poll released October 22, 2013

Terry McAuliffe (D): 50%
Ken Cuccinelli (R): 33%
Robert Sarvis (L): 8%

Election Day is in two weeks.

Update: Quinniapiac Poll out October 23:

McAuliffe: 46%
Cuccinelli: 39%
Sarvis: 10%

Quinnipiac seems more in line with other polls than yesterday's Rasmussen.  Real Clear Politics has McAuliffe's average at +9.6%.

Schapiro exposes negative campaigning ... Bolling again calls for positive messaging

In his column in Sunday's Richmond Times-Dispatch, political reporter Jeff Schapiro wrote:

What Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli say, to whom and how they say it, speaks to the direction of the gubernatorial campaign. Some of it is noise. A lot is dog-whistle politics: shrill, high-frequency babble tailored to the ears of targeted voters.

All the negativity hasn't been lost on Virginia's Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling who wrote on Facebook:

Jeff Schapiro does a pretty good job capturing the essence of this year's gubernatorial campaign, which is characterized by way too much negativity and way too little substance. I still believe the candidate who can project a positive message in the final weeks of the campaign is the candidate who will win.

A positive message from our 2013 candidates? What a novel idea.

Bolling, Sabato hit Twitter, FB with Va gubernatorial frustrations

Virginia's gubernatorial campaign took another interesting turn on Friday as two powerful political pundits took to social media to express frustration with the candidates and the state of both campaigns.

Sinking further into the muck, the past week saw the Cuccinelli campaign accusing McAuliffe of saying something he didn't while news broke that McAuliffe's former GreenTech company has come under SEC scrutiny.

It was almost possible to hear the exasperation in University of Virginia Professor Larry Sabato's voice Friday afternoon as he tweeted:

Just re-checked my VA Constitution. Requirements for GOV do NOT include being controversial or seedy.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 2, 2013

Sabato immediately followed that tweet with another referring to Virginia's Lieutenant Governor:

Bill Bolling goofed big-time. #VAGOV
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 2, 2013

Friday night the Lieutenant Governor himself took to Twitter and Facebook here and here (he has two FB pages) to express frustration about the current state of Virginia's governor's race. Bill Bolling posted:

I'm very frustrated by the current direction of the gubernatorial campaign. Instead of spending millions of dollars calling each other names, I'd like to see the candidates actually talk about the important issues facing our state. The people of Virginia deserve better than they are getting, and that's a bipartisan criticism.

By Saturday morning he had received hundreds of thumbs ups from around the Commonwealth and, presumably, there were many more who did not publicly give their approval but were thinking it.

Dozens left comments, some noting that they would be writing in Bill Bolling's name on the November ballot, a recurring theme that has come up in letters to the editor and conversations on the street. This comment from a supporter named Bill echoed those sentiments:

I will be writing in Bill Bolling and I have lots of friends here in Goochland that will be doing the same.

Another supporter pleaded:

Bill, it's not too late. Give us another choice. PLEASE!!!!!

Commenter John looked at the election in a different light:

If this were a job interview for a corporation, I was the hiring manager, and I was down to the two party's respective candidates as my final applicants, I would tell my Human Resource Department to leave the job posted, as I haven't found the right hire.

That was the tone of most of the comments as voters expressed concerns, even suggesting Bolling 2017. The naysayers stopped by, too, like James who quipped:

It might be helpful if you constructively supported your party's nominee....

To which Chris responded:

Well, it would have also been nice to have gotten to vote in a primary too, but that didn't happen either.

Bottom line: there is definitely dissatisfaction among voters, something picked up on in Sunday's News & Advance editorial, Cuccinelli, McAuliffe and the Split in the GOP. With that said, we are still three months away from election day 2013.

Cross-posted at Va Political Pineapple

Virginia Bar Association gubernatorial debate at The Homestead - 1st photos

Ken Cuccinelli, Terry McAuliffe, Judy Woodruff

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
July 20, 2013

PBS' Judy Woodruff to moderate VBA gubernatorial debate at Homestead Resort

The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) announced Friday that PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff will be the moderator for their 123rd summer meeting's Gubernatorial Debate between Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe and Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli. The event will take place on July 20 at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia.

Ms. Woodruff has covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS. She regularly co-anchors “PBS NewsHour,” a program she rejoined in 2007. Previously she worked at CNN for 12 years, during which time she anchored the weekday “Inside Politics” program. Woodruff served as chief Washington correspondent for PBS “NewsHour” and for NBC’s “Today Show."

The award-winning broadcast journalist also appears monthly on the Bloomberg Television program “Conversations with Judy Woodruff.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have the co-anchor of ‘PBS NewsHour’ – and someone with Judy Woodruff’s experience in political coverage – as our moderator,” VBA President Tom Bagby said. “This debate is likely to receive national attention and certainly will be one to attend.”

Woodruff’s appearance as moderator for the 2013 VBA debate follows that of CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley. Crowley took The Homestead stage last July with U.S. Senate candidates Tim Kaine and George Allen. Not long after that, Crowley became only the second woman to moderate a presidential debate, and the first woman to do so in 20 years.

Polls of the 2013 Virginia governor’s race show Republican Cuccinelli and Democrat McAuliffe closely matched in voters’ minds several months ahead of Election Day. A sizable percentage of adults have not decided who will get their vote. Pundits have dubbed the match-up one of two marquee gubernatorial races in the nation this year.

By sponsoring debates and inviting news media coverage, the nonpartisan VBA seeks to educate the public and its members about candidates’ views, and to stimulate voter interest and participation in the election process.

Founded in 1888, the VBA (www.vba.org) is the state’s oldest and largest voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and legal educators. As the independent voice of the Virginia lawyer, it advances the highest ideals of the profession through advocacy and volunteer service.