The Paul Ryan VP pick, the renewed debate over welfare, and a Republican Senate candidate's incendiary remarks about abortion haven’t done much to move polls in Virginia.
The most recent poll coming out of the swing state still shows the senate race between former governors Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen in a dead heat.
In a new poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling both candidates have 46 percent of the vote.
In the same poll last month, Kaine led 46 to 44 percent, a lead that fell within the polls 3.4 percent margin of error.
Following national trends, Kaine continues to lead among women 50-39 percent, while Allen gains more support from men, now 53-40 percent.
Both campaigns are also trying to court the Hispanic vote. According to a Univision article, over the last ten years the Hispanic population in Virginia has almost doubled, now accounting for about 8 percent of the population.
Kaine released his first ad in Spanish today.
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Allen has also tried to win the Hispanic vote by having Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American senator from Florida, campaign on his behalf.
A poll of Virginia Hispanic conducted by Latino Decisions in June found that 53 percent would support a Democrat in the Senate race while 32 percent preferred a Republican.
IN OTHER NEWS:
* Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration on Thursday released the name, logo and Web site for a new state government unit created to let residents purchase health insurance plans next year under the Affordable Care Act. The unit is called Maryland Health Connection.
* Former Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode handed in more than 20,000 to make it on the Virginia presidential ballot as the nominee for the Constitution Party.
* D.C. tap water, it’s all the rage. Can you tell the difference between the city’s tap water and bottled water?
* The Washington Examiner reports that top officials who criticized an insider deal at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to give a board member a big consulting contract knew about the contract beforehand,
* Roanoke Times Editorial Board urges Virginia residents to check their voter status now.
* Marion Barry is now in on the joke and is officially embracing his ‘mayor-for-life’ title.
* A newly formed task force in D.C. said it might be smarter to only bury power lines in high-risk areas.
