The Wild(er) Card

The results of the Mason-Dixon poll on the local mayoral race, which the Richmond Times-Dispatch published yesterday, have Robert Grey (13 percent) standing far behind Bill Pantele (32 percent) and Dwight Jones (30 percent). For what it's worth, Lawrence Williams got 2 percent and "undecideds" came in at 21 percent.

The poll's supposed margin for error is 4.5 percent. Click here to read about that story at inRich.

Tuesday night the third and final of the League of Women Voter/STYLE Weekly mayoral forums will take place at the Library of Virginia, (800 E. Broad St.), between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

On one level this race can be seen as being split along racial lines. The poll says Jones is far ahead with black voters and Pantele is far ahead with white voters.

But there are other dynamics at work in this contest. With the most adamant anti-Doug Wilder votes being split between Jones and Pantele, a good question to ask is: where will the remaining pro-Wilder support fall?

After all, the same Mason-Dixon poll said 35 percent of Richmond's voters still heartily approve of Wilder's performance as mayor. Who will win those votes? At the last minute, could they all go toward one candidate, voting as a block?

At the last big debate, can any of the three still in contention (Goldman dropped out last week) say something -- October Surprise-like -- that would shake up this race? Is there a Wild(er) card yet to be played?

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Update: Outgoing school board member Carol Wolf has endorsed Robert Grey. Read what she has to say at RVANews, by clicking here.