Survey USA : Allen 49%, Webb 46%

Update:
& from http://www.bloomberg...

"Virginia

Democrat James Webb, a Vietnam veteran who served as Ronald Reagan's Navy secretary, has a narrow 47-to-44 percent lead over Republican incumbent George Allen in the Virginia Senate race.

The sample of 385 likely voters has a margin of error of 5 percentage points. Webb, 60, is a critic of the Iraq war; Allen, 54, is a former governor and representative who backs Bush.

Webb's lead is attributable to the national anti-Republican mood as well as Allen's gaffes in recent weeks, said George Grayson, a government professor at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

``It's just part of the national typhoon against Republicans,'' Grayson said. Eighty-nine percent of those who plan to vote for Webb say they disapprove of the job Bush is doing.

Allen has been battered by questions about his racial and ethnic sensitivity. At an Aug. 11 rally, he referred to a Webb campaign worker of Indian descent as ``macaca.'' The term is considered a racial slur in some parts of the world.

Allen has asked voters to judge the candidates based on their positions on issues. A majority of voters, 55 percent, agree, saying that the candidates' positions on the issues is more important than their character; 14 percent said character is more important, the poll found. "

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