A new poll from Roanoke College in Virginia shows the Senate race in the Old Dominion is in a statistical dead heat. Republican candidate George Allen has a slight 42–39 lead over Democrat Tim Kaine. Nineteen percent are still undecided.
Allen, who held the Senate seat from 2001 to 2007, and the former Virginia Governor and DNC Chair Kaine, are running to replace current Democratic Sen. Jim Webb.
Webb narrowly defeated Allen’s 2006 bid for re-election, and his victory tilted the Senate toward a Democratic majority. Earlier this year, however, Webb announced he would not seek re-election.
“While the election of 2012 is still a long way off — 14 months is an eternity in political time — it appears that the Senate race may well be nip-and-tuck for the next year and beyond,” said Roanoke College pollster Dr. Harry Wilson.
The Roanoke poll also held some bad news for President Barack Obama, who won in Virginia in 2008. The president trails former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, 45 to 37 percent. Texas Governor Rick Perry leads Obama as well, by a slimmer 42–40 margin. A generic Republican candidate also leads Obama, 41 to 33 percent.
The president’s approval rating in Virginia stands at 39 percent. Still, Obama leads other Republican candidates in the race, including Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Texas congressman Ron Paul.