George,

The answer to the question why McAuliffe is behind 41 to 51 in the Washington Post poll is that any poll this early in a campaign is meaningless. The key numbers in the poll are that 70 percent know little or nothing about McAuliffe and 50 percent know little or nothing about Cuccinelli. In early polls in any race, the candidate with the greatest name recognition is always ahead. McAuliffe only began campaigning yesterday. If McAuliffe is this far behind in October, then that would be noteworthy.

David RePass (Electronic mail, May 7, 2013)