With the election for governor of Virginia just 35 days away, Creigh Deeds (D) still has some ground to make up, but he's certainly within range of his Republican opponent. A new survey from Public Policy Polling today finds Bob McDonnell's lead over Deeds down to 5 points, a 2-point margin decrease from nearly a month ago.

McDonnell 48 (-1 vs. last poll, Sept. 1)
Deeds 43 (+1)
Und 8

McDonnell now leads in the RCP Average by 4.4 points.

"The race for Governor looks much more competitive heading into the last five weeks than it has for most of the last couple months," said PPP president Dean Debnam. "Democratic voters are showing more interest in turning out and that has Creigh Deeds within striking range."

McDonnell maintains a sizeable lead among independents, 53% to 37%, and also holds the support of a higher percentage of Republicans (96%) than Deeds does of Democrats (82%). Both candidates' unfavorable ratings increased since the last poll, perhaps due to an increasingly negative tone in the race's second to last month.

The survey was taken Sept. 25-28 of 576 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.