Cuccinelli
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is already showing a substantial lead in the race for governor, according to poll results released last week.
Public Policy Polling, based in Raleigh, N.C., took a "very early look" at the 2013 GOP primary for governor and found Cuccinelli with a "big early lead" over Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
Cuccinelli, who has made a name for himself as the state's top lawyer, announced earlier this month that he would run for governor. Bolling, meanwhile, serves under current Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was Cuccinelli's predecessor as attorney general.
According to the survey's findings, released Tuesday, the attorney general had the support of 44 percent of Republican voters while Bolling had 25 percent.
PPP noted that both men are popular among Republican voters familiar with them; however, Cuccinelli is "far better known" with 73 percent of voters having an opinion about him compared to the 48 percent with an opinion about Bolling.
Right now, it looks like the state's Republican electorate is trending very conservative, PPP President Dean Debnam said.
"It will be interesting to see how viable those guys end up being in a general election," he said.
PPP, considered a Democratic polling company, surveyed 350 Republican primary voters from Dec. 11-13 through automated telephone interviews.
The margin of error for the poll, which the company noted was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization, is plus or minus 5.2 percent.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.