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geographic regions and in eight of 10 congressional districts in the October poll.
“While Baliles appears to be in the most comfortable position, the other Democrats still only hold a narrow lead over their Republican opponents,” Mason-Dixon poll analysts said. “So, while Baliles seems to be the clear favorite in the governor’s race, his coattails may not be long enough for Wilder and Terry.”
Wilder gains
Mr. Wilder, the first major-party black candidate for statewide office, has made tremendous progress since his nomination for lieutenant governor in May, according to the MasonDixon polls.
The most recent poll gave him a slight lead for the first time. Mr. Chichester led, 42-29 in June, 42-31 in July and 37-32 in September, according to the polls.
Although respondents picked Mr. Wilder 41-40 statewide, the most recent poll gave Mr. Chichester the lead:
• 49 percent to 33 percent in the Central Piedmont region (including Fauquier, Rappahannock, Culpeper and Stafford counties).
• 43 to 37 in Northern Virginia (including Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax counties).
• 45 to 35 in the Shenandoah region (including Clarke, Warren and Frederick counties).
• In six of nine geographic regions and in five of 10 congressional districts, with the candidates tied in another.
The poll gave Mr. Chichester the edge among men (42-36) and whites (48-31), while Mr. Wilder was preferred among women (45-39) and blacks (85-6).
But, with 19 percent of the respondents undecided and only a percentage point separating the candidates, “the race for lieutenant governor is a dead heat,” MasonDixon analysts said.
93.4%