Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is opening a financial and polling gap in the race for governor, outraising her Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by nearly 2-to-1 last quarter and entering the final four months of Virginia's statewide election season with more than triple the cash on hand.

The new Virginia Commonwealth University poll gives Spanberger an advantage over Earle-Sears, with 48 percent of respondents saying they plan to vote for the Democratic candidate and only 36 percent backing the Republican.