DATE: Wednesday, July 30, 1997              TAG: 9707300525

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   28 lines

GOVERNOR'S RACE IS DEAD HEAT, POLL SHOWS

The race for governor remains a dead heat, according to a new poll.

Republican James S. Gilmore III held a statistically insignificant 43-to-42 percent lead over Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr., according to a survey of 810 registered state voters conducted late last week by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research of Columbia, Md.

The poll showed Beyer with a 15 percentage point lead in vote-rich Northern Virginia and a 3 percentage point lead in Hampton Roads.

Gilmore led in the central regions of the state stretching from the Richmond metropolitan area to Roanoke.

The poll suggests that neither candidate has benefited from heavy investments in television and radio advertising early this summer. A May poll showed Gilmore with a 43-to-41 percent lead.

The candidates also made little dent in improving their images. Beyer's favorable ratings went up from 34 to 36 percent since May. Gilmore's favorable ratings nudged from 31 to 32 percent.

``It appears that voters are waiting until fall to focus on their choice for governor,'' said Brad Coker, president of Mason-Dixon.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. KEYWORDS: POLL SURVEY ELECTION

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