Poll Shows Kilgore Ahead of Kaine in Va.

Voters believe that Kaine is less likely to hold taxes down, and they strongly oppose a gas tax increase when a gallon of fuel costs more than $3. But by 2 to 1, they think the 2004 tax increases Warner pushed through were "mainly a good thing."

The challenge for Kaine is to gain credit for those accomplishments. Asked how much responsibility Kaine should have for the successes and failures of the Warner administration, 43 percent of those polled said "some" and 8 percent said "a lot."

"I think Kaine will keep up on a level footing . . . keep things going in a good direction," said Joe Richards, 70, a retired government worker from Williamsburg.

Kaine aides said the next two months offer great opportunities. "As people get to know us, our numbers move in the right direction," Elleithee said.

Kaine's television ads and mailings say he played an integral part in helping Warner push the tax increases through a reluctant legislature. And for the next 59 days, he will say that the tax increases allowed the government to spend billions of dollars on schools.

That message could work for Kaine, the poll suggests, because education ranks as the top issue among voters.

Twenty-one percent said public education is their highest priority, and more than half believe Kaine would improve public education as governor. In addition to talking about school investment, Kaine has proposed to spend $300 million a year to make preschool available to all 4-year-olds, an idea supported by almost three-quarters of those polled.

Kaine seems to have effectively countered Kilgore's attacks on the death penalty. A lawyer, Kaine twice represented death row inmates and has said he is morally opposed to capital punishment. But he vows to enforce it as governor.

Virginians overwhelmingly support the death penalty. But by 2 to 1, voters said they believed Kaine would enforce the law despite his personal opposition.

A Little Bit

In a tight race, every little bit counts. And Potts is getting that little bit, the poll shows.

Potts is a Republican whose service in the Senate began more than a decade ago. As a senior member of the chamber, he chairs the Education and Health Committee. But he is not known well statewide. Half of those surveyed said they are familiar with him.

His decision to run for governor as an independent appears to have hurt his support among members of his own party. Only 2 percent of Republicans are planning to vote for him. Eleven percent of independents said they support Potts.

"I consider Potts a middle-of-the-roader," said Patrick Weakland, 69, a retired airline pilot who lives in the Northern Neck. "He's not the consummate politician. That's the kind of man that I want."

Weakland said he's an independent; years ago, he cast a vote for H. Ross Perot for president. He supports Bush and voted for Warner in 2001.

"Warner, I think, had . . . to make some hard decisions," Weakland said. "Anybody who comes into a government with a budget deficit where you don't have enough money to pay the bills, and turn it around, that's what we need in governments."

The Post's poll of self-identified Virginia voters was conducted by telephone Sept. 6-9. The margin of error for overall results is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Polling director Richard Morin and staff writer Chris L. Jenkins contributed to this report.