Tim Kaine
In 2005, Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W. Kilgore, a former state attorney general. Two polls released in September 2005 showed Kaine loosing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one percentage point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll. The final opinion polls of the race before the November election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore. Kaine won, winning 1,025,942 votes (51.7%) to Kilgore's 912,327 (46.0%).