Free Republic

The first round of Virginia gubernatorial polls conducted since the start of the government shutdown (remember: NoVa. Bureaucrats and contractors. SO many bureaucrats and contractors.) are out; I definitely wouldn’t go so far as to say that Cuccinelli “doomed,” but with both camps running ads disparaging the shutdown and trying to link to other guy to the ‘DC dysfunction,’ it doesn’t look like the situation has improved Cuccinelli’s fortunes. The first poll, via Politico, has McAuliffe at 54 percent and Cuccinelli at 44 percent in a one-to-one contest:

Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe's (D) website was updated Monday to show his commitment to bring Colorado-like gun control to the commonwealth. In the section titled "Investing in Virginia's Urban Centers," TerryMcAuliffe.com now contains the heading, "Support Common Sense Gun Control Measures." Under that heading, it says McAuliffe "will support mainstream and majority supported gun control measures like universal background checks, limiting the size of magazines, and a return to the 1-gun-per-month rule." The limitation on magazine capacity is a Colorado-like gun control measure that will put law-abiding Virginians at a disadvantage the moment it is enacted. This is because...

Apparently deterred neither by the recent and successful liberalization of state gun laws in Virginia nor by the clear message that Colorado voters sent to lawmakers earlier in the month, Virginian gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has added a gun-control plank to his campaign website. Support common sense gun control measures As Governor, Terry will support mainstream and majority supported gun control measures like universal background checks, limiting the size of magazines, and a return to the 1-gun-per-month rule. These measures respect Virginians’ right to bear arms while reducing gun violence. With the exception of the one-gun-per-month rule, a 1993 measure...

The campaign of Terry McAuliffe is getting tripped up in the stretch run of the race for Virginia governor over the Democrat’s perceived lack of substance on issues, but the unfavorable ratings of Republican Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II apparently have offset the stumbles, according to polling numbers released Monday. Republicans, who for months have had only moderate success attacking the former Democratic National Committee chairman for his ties to a controversial and underperforming car company he co-founded, had seen poll numbers tighten amid skepticism about Mr. McAuliffe’s command of critical policy matters. In recent days: • The Northern...