Poll: Romney, Cain in dead heat in Virginia

National and state-based polls over the past week have showed Cain within striking distance of — or in some cases tied with — Romney. The two will join the other candidates onstage Tuesday night for a Bloomberg/Washington Post debate in New Hampshire.

The poll also offered a glimmer of hope for the White House: President Obama is tied with or ahead of all the Republican candidates in a general-election match-up. Obama won Virginia in 2008 by just six points.

The poll also showed the Senate race in Virginia in a statistical dead heat, with former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) at 45 percent and former Sen. George Allen (R) at 44. That continues a trend of too-close-to-call in this contentious and highly watched race.

The poll of 1,459 Virginia voters was conducted Oct. 5-9 and had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.