Poll: Warner Leads Gilmore

A new Rasmussen Reportspoll shows Mark R. Warner still holds a solid lead over former Gov. Jim Gilmore in their expected U.S. Senate showdown.\ \ \ The telephone survey found Warner, a Democrat, with a 55 to 39 percent lead against Gilmore, down slightly from February when he led 57 percent to 37 percent.\ \ \ The poll summary states: "The economy is the most important issue for 38 percent of Virginia voters. Just 17 percent give the economy a good or excellent rating, while 37 percent give it a poor rating. Seventy-percent percent think the economy is getting worse, while just 9 percent say it's getting better.\ \ \ The War in Iraq is the most important issue for 21 percent of voters. Forty-percent percent of Virginia voters say the situation in Iraq will improve in the next six months, while 31 percent believe it will worsen."\ \ \ \ \ \ Another recent Rasmussen Reports survey also found that Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, "holds significant leads over both potential democratic candidates in general election match-ups in the Old Dominion."\ \ \ The poll can be found here \ \ \ \ — Seth McLaughlin, Virginia politics reporter, The Washington Times