McAuliffe has held onto his wide lead among women and minorities, the poll found. Poll: McAuliffe leads by 7 points

Democratic Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe remains up by 7 points, according to a new poll Wednesday.

McAuliffe led his Republican challenger Ken Cuccinelli 46 percent to 39 percent in the Quinnipiac poll of likely voters, essentially the same margin as the 47 percent to 39 percent lead he had earlier this month.


Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis pulled down 10 percent of likely voters.

McAuliffe held on to his wide lead among women and minorities, while Cuccinelli maintained his moderate lead among men and white voters.

( PHOTOS: Terry McAuliffe’s career)

More than three-quarters of likely Virginia voters said the government shutdown hurt their state, with 47 percent saying it hurt a great deal and 30 percent saying it hurt somewhat. McAuliffe led by 10 points on the question of which candidate’s position on the shutdown more closely aligned with voters’, 45 percent to 35 percent.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,085 likely voters from Oct. 15 to 21 for the poll, which has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.