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We’ll be live streaming the Virginia Governor’s debate tonight starting at 7:30 ET. I’ll be co-hosting with Nico Pitney of the Huffington Post, David Grant of the Collegiate Times and Virginia blogger Ben Tribbett of Not Larry Sabato.

Things are getting quite heated after the latest poll shows McAuliffe with a commanding lead, though there’s an argument over whether the poll is an outlier or not (New Dominion Project says yes, and Lowell at BlueVA says no).

And there’s something of a raging online battle:

Decision Virginia: "Last night on a public feed available to anyone, Three high profile aides to Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe got into an interesting back and forth over the now controversial fundraiser for McAuliffe run by the lobbying firm BGR."

Joe Trippi (working for Moran): "McAuliffe’s campaign has not only broken its most visible campaign pledge, but also continues to make a misleading distinction between offshore oil drilling and offshore gas drilling. Earlier in the week, Friends of Terry McAuliffe sponsored a poll testing negative attacks against Brian Moran. The poll was conducted by Luce Research from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The McAuliffe campaign fired back: "Moran campaign today falsely accused McAuliffe of supporting offshore oil drilling, despite the fact that he has consistently opposed it. However, when he was in the General Assembly, Brian Moran actually voted FOR the current Virginia law, supported by Governor Kaine, that prohibited oil drilling but allowed for limited natural gas exploration 50 miles off the VA coast. [SB262, 4/19/06 ]"

AP on last night’s debate: "Former Del. Brian J. Moran confronted millionaire businessman and former Democratic national chairman Terry McAuliffe about his lucrative involvement with bankrupt telecommunications giant Global Crossing."

And: "State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds asked McAuliffe why he backed the North American Free Trade Agreement – promoted and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, his political patron. NAFTA has been blamed for ruining the once-thriving fabric mills of Danville, a city with high jobless rates."

Hilary Colleen, the Virginia Campus Organizer for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, confronted McAuliffe about a controversial $6 billion coal-fired power plant next to the James River.

Then there’s the same sex marriage debate.

And what would an election be without a funding controversy? "State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds used the first debate among the Democrats running for Virginia governor to attack his two rivals Sunday, questioning the campaign contributions they received from wealthy out-of-state donors and defense contractors."

Be sure to check out local blogs like New Dominion Project, Anonymous Is A Woman, Blue VA, Blue Commonwealth, Vivian Paige, and CobaltVA for coverage.

See you at 7:30.

Related posts:

  1. Deeds Leading in VA Governor Primary: Heavy Rain Suppresses Turnout
  2. Join Us Tonight in Reston, Virginia, for Jim Moran/Howard Dean Event
  3. Gubernatorial Candidate Creigh Deeds Offers to “Opt Out” Virginia from Public Option
  4. Election 2009: What Happened in Virginia?
  5. A Union Man Ponders the Democrats’ Collapse in the Virginia Elections