Virginians headed to the polls in a steady stream Tuesday to decide whether Republican Robert F. McDonnell or Democrat R. Creigh Deeds will become the state’s 71st governor.
Mr. McDonnell voted with his family at 8 a.m. in Glen Allen before going to a polling station in Alexandria. He was scheduled to make a stop in Virginia Beach before going to Richmond for a traditional election-results event.
Mr. Deeds voted at 6:25 a.m. at the Milboro Ruritan Club in his native Bath County. He went to the polls with wife Pam and children Amanda, 24, Rebecca, 22, and Gus, 20. Afterward, he joined supporters outside for a small party. Mr. Deeds then departed for several scheduled stops around Charlottesville before heading to Richmond, the state capital.
Mr. McDonnell held a comfortable lead over Mr. Deeds when the polls opened Tuesday, stoking Republican hopes of securing for the first time since 1997 Virginia’s top three elected posts — governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Voters awoke to a cool autumn morning as polls opened at 6 a.m. The forecast for the remainder of the day in Virginia is seasonal temperatures and no rain. No major problems had been reported as of midday, and polls close at 7 p.m.
Among the early voters was Robert Lyon, 67.
Mr. Lyon, who owns a custom-paint company, described himself as an independent but “a conservative one, one of few in this county.”
Still, one of his votes went to a Democrat, Jay Fisette, an incumbent running for a seat on the county board.
Mr. Lyon said he voted for Mr. Fisette because “he does a good job” and jokingly added that Mr. Fisette gave Halloween candy to his granddaughter.
Mr. McDonnell made a late-morning stop at Riverside Elementary School, in Northern Virginia, where he shook hands with voters and thanked poll workers.
Linda Noble, who usually casts an absentee ballot, was hoping for a short line but was excited to see Mr. Donnell.
“We met the governor, the new governor that it,” said Mrs. Noble, a Fairfax County resident.
County officials reported a moderate turnout for early voters, similar to past gubernatorial elections.
Maggi Luca, secretary of the Fairfax County electoral board, said a mid-morning tally from 33 precincts showed a 10 percent to 25 percent turnout.
Virginia has 4.7 million active voters in 2,516 precincts, according to the state.
Polling shows Mr. McDonnell made steady gains in the final weeks among those who identified themselves as Republicans and independents. He also substantially cut into Democrats’ advantage in Northern Virginia, which helped President Obama capture the state last year and awarded the governorship to now-Sen. Mark Warner in 2001 and Gov. Tim Kaine in 2005.
The race is being watched nationally because it’s one of only two gubernatorial elections in 2009. And it could be one of several Republican victories one year after the national elections in which the party lost heavily to Democrats.
The other gubernatorial race, in New Jersey, features incumbent Jon Corzine, a Democrat, in a close contest with Republican challenger Chris Christie. The independent candidate, Chris Daggett, is a distant third but could take votes from either candidate.
A poll by Public Policy Polling released Monday showed Mr. McDonnell leading Mr. Deeds 56 percent to 42 percent. The poll also found 63 percent of voters thought Mr. McDonnell had made a strong argument for election, while 34 percent thought Mr. Deeds had.
Republican candidates in other Virginia races had comfortable leads over their Democrat opponents.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Republican Bill Bolling led Democrat Jody M. Wagner 54 percent to 41 percent. For attorney general, Republican Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II led Democrat Stephen C. Shannon, 55 percent to 39 percent.
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