
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309110207
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

POLL SHOWS TERRY, ALLEN EVEN

Republican George Allen has pulled even with Democrat Mary Sue Terry in their race for governor, according to a Richmond newspaper and television poll due out this weekend.

According to three sources, the WWBT-12 and Richmond Times Dispatch poll shows Allen with 39 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Terry. It's the first time Allen has led in any poll, although the lead is well within the poll's statistical margin of error, defining what is effectively an even contest.

The results continue to show slippage for Terry, who held an 18-point advantage in another poll in June.

A Mason Dixon Research poll released last week showed Terry leading Allen by 6 percentage points, 46-40.

One source familiar with the new Richmond poll cautioned that it may exaggerate Allen's support because it undersampled black voters. The poll included 11 percent response from blacks, about 5 percentage points less than the usual black vote in Virginia.

According to the sources, an analysis of the Richmond poll attributes Terry's decline to the unpopularity of fellow Democrat President Clinton.

The only race in which the Richmond poll gives any candidate a substantial lead is the contest for attorney general. Republican Jim Gilmore had 37 percent, to 25 percent for Democrat Bill Dolan.

In the race for lieutenant governor, incumbent Democrat Don Beyer held a slim lead in the sample, with 38 percent, to 33 percent for Republican Mike Farris.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB