Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: PPP takes an early look at the 2013 Virginia governor's race

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' VA-Gov: Public Policy Polling has a very early look at the 2013 gubernatorial race in Virginia, where Democrats would actually start off with a big advantage'but only if Sen. Mark Warner were to try to reclaim the governor's mansion, which he held from 2002 to 2006. Here are the results (4/26-29, Virginia voters, MoE: ±3.8%, no trendlines):

Mark Warner (D): 53
Ken Cuccinelli (R): 33
Undecided: 14

Mark Warner (D): 53
Bill Bolling (R): 32
Undecided: 14

Mark Warner (D): 58
Tareq Salahi (R): 19
Undecided: 23

Terry McAuliffe (D): 41
Ken Cuccinelli (R): 36
Undecided: 23

Terry McAuliffe (D): 34
Bill Bolling (R): 36
Undecided: 30

Terry McAuliffe (D): 43
Tareq Salahi (R): 18
Undecided: 38

Tom Perriello (D): 39
Ken Cuccinelli (R): 36
Undecided: 25

Tom Perriello (D): 34
Bill Bolling (R): 35
Undecided: 31

Tom Perriello (D): 44
Tareq Salahi (R): 20
Undecided: 36

In case you are unfamiliar with the other players, Terry McAuliffe is a former DNC chair and also an unsuccessful 2009 candidate for the Democratic nomination; Tom Perriello is a former one-term congressman who represented VA-05; Bill Bolling is the state's current lieutenant governor and "establishment" choice; Ken Cuccinelli is Virginia's attorney general and a favorite among movement conservatives; and Tareq Salahi is that rich d-bag who is most famous for crashing a White House state dinner with his wife in 2009.

PPP also tested the GOP primary (MoE: ±4.9%):

Ken Cuccinelli (R): 51
Bill Bolling (R): 23
Tareq Salahi (R): 4
Undecided: 22

This is actually good news for Democrats, since Bolling performs better against our lesser-known candidates (McAuliffe and Perriello) than the more polarizing Cuccinelli. Of course, that could change over the next year-and-a-half, but for now, I'll take it. (And man must Bolling be regretting his decision to defer to Bob McDonnell in the gubernatorial race in 2009. He figured he'd have a clean shot in 2013 by "waiting his turn," but Cuccinelli's ambition has completely ruined those plans.)