McAuliffe Widens Lead Over Cuccinelli In New Poll. Amid shutdown, Republican falls further behind

Democrat Terry McAuliffe continues to widen his lead over Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) in the gubernatorial race, according to a new NBC4/NBC News/Marist poll released on Thursday.

The poll found McAuliffe leading Cuccinelli 46 percent to 38 percent. That's a three-point increase from the poll's previous results last month, when McAuliffe lead 43 percent to 38 percent. The most recent poll also found Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis pulling in 9 percent of likely voter support.

Recent polling has consistently shown a widening gap in the gubernatorial race in McAuliffe's favor. Part of this is likely related to the government shutdown. The poll found that 54 percent of likely voters in Virginia blame Republicans for the shutdown while just 31 percent of those surveyed blame President Obama. McAuliffe has hammered Cuccinelli on the shutdown, releasing numbers ads and statement tying the conservative attorney general to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

McAuliffe is also reportedly winning in the advertising war. He has outspent Cuccinelli 2-to-1 in the race, according to NBC.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mcauliffe-widens-lead-over-cuccinelli-in-new-poll

Poll: Amid shutdown, Republican falls further behind in race for Va. governor
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/17/21012601-poll-amid-shutdown-republican-falls-further-behind-in-race-for-va-governor?lite

A new NBC4/NBC News/Marist poll finds Republican Ken Cuccinelli slipping further behind Democrat Terry McAuliffe, 46 to 38 percent in the race for Virginia governor among likely voters. That’s 3 points wider than McAuliffe’s 43 to 38 percent lead a month ago -- before the shutdown. Libertarian Robert Sarvis gets 9 percent.

Virginia was one of the top states impacted by the shutdown -- with hundreds of thousands of federal workers, contractors, and military service members and retirees in the state. And a majority (54 percent) in the poll blames Republicans for the shutdown. Just 31 percent of likely voters blame President Barack Obama.