Bob McDonnell now leads all Dem candidates for Gov.

Latest Rasmussen poll has GOP Gov. candidate Bob McDonnell outpacing all his Dem rivals, improving upon his standing from Dec.

Now, the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows the lone Republican gubernatorial candidate topping his best-known opponent, Terry McAuliffe, by seven points, 42% to 35%. In December, he held a five-point edge over McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton confidant, major Democratic fund-raiser and former national party chairman.

McDonnell is even further ahead of Rep. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County – 39% to 30%. The two men were tied two months ago.

Brian J. Moran, a former state delegate from Alexandria, led McDonnell by four points in the earlier survey but now trails by three, 39% to 36%.

Here’s how their Fav./Unfav. ratings stack up:

Bob McDonnell (50/18 ) +32 favorable

Creigh “Dirty” Deeds (30/29) +1 favorable

Brian “Don’t Call Me Jim” Moran (32/33) -1 unfavorable

Terry “Global Crossing” McAuliffe (34/39) -5 unfavorable

That is a pretty stark contrast between the candidates of the two parties.  While all Dems are mired in the low to mid-30s in terms of their favorables, Bob McDonnell has hit 50.  Likewise, McDonnell’s favorables are nearly 3-times his unfavorables while only one Dem managed to even squeek into favorable territory by a single percentage point.

Couple together these showings with the strong performances by Joe Murray in the 46th Dist. and Pat Herrity in Fairfax County where both only lost their races by a single percentage point in blue territory and conditions are ripening for McDonnell to retake the Gov. seat for the GOP in November.  McDonnell must continue to focus on quality of life issues that voters care about and lead the House and Senate GOP on a path of keeping our taxes low.