McDonnell, Deeds in Virtual Tie

Deeds, who was commonwealth's attorney in rural Bath County for four years, served 10 years in the House and four in the Senate when he was elected to fill the seat of Emily Couric of Charlottesville after she died in office. He sponsored measures that created Virginia's versions of the Amber Alert system, used to help find missing children, and Megan's Law, which tracks released sex offenders.

One of Deeds's most high-profile proposals was a 2001 constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to hunt and fish, an effort that helped him secure the endorsement of the National Rifle Association in the attorney general's race.

Although public safety issues dominated the early race, in recent weeks both candidates have campaigned with the intent of using social issues to energize core supporters from their respective parties, said Joshua G. Behr, an assistant professor of political science at Old Dominion University.

In recent days, the Deeds campaign ran a television advertisement in Northern Virginia that emphasized McDonnell's ties to evangelist Pat Robertson, who gave $36,000 to McDonnell's campaign. McDonnell earned his law degree at Regent University in Virginia Beach, which was founded by Robertson in 1978.

The spot also emphasized McDonnell's antiabortion stance.

McDonnell, responding in statements to reporters, called Deeds "religiously intolerant" and described the television spot as an "attack on Christians across Virginia." McDonnell's campaign went on to describe what it called Deeds's "liberal record" and note that he was endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia.

Yesterday morning, Shakuntala Ghare, 71, of Fairfax, an associate professor at Northern Virginia Community College, said her views on abortion caused her to cast a vote for Deeds. "I thought Deeds was more pro-choice for women," she said.

Dan Harris, 71, of the Leisure World retirement community, said he was thinking about safety when he supported McDonnell, whom he sees as tougher on criminals.

Staff writer Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.