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RICHMOND -- Republican Bob McDonnell holds a cash advantage over Democrat Creigh Deeds in the waning days of the governor's race, and a new statewide poll gives the former attorney general a commanding lead as the candidates near the finish line.

McDonnell has raised more money and spent more money than Deeds and, as of last week, had nearly twice as much cash in the bank, according to reports filed Monday with the Virginia State Board of Elections.

McDonnell had more than money to smile about Monday. A new statewide poll conducted by The Washington Post showed the Republican with a lead of 11 percentage points over Deeds. The Post's survey of 1,206 likely voters showed 55 percent supporting McDonnell and 44 percent backing Deeds. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

McDonnell reported raising $4 million in the first three weeks of October and had a cash balance of $1.8 million as of Oct. 21. Deeds raised nearly $3.1 million during the same period and had a balance of $937,772.

McDonnell's October totals include $2.1 million in in-kind contributions, including more than $1 million from the state Republican Party for direct mail and marketing and more than $972,000 from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for television ads. The campaign had more than 2,700 new donors during the period.

Deeds' October total includes $1.7 million from the Democratic National Committee, chaired by outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine. The campaign had more than 1,400 new donors.

Both campaigns have accelerated their spending in recent weeks as they saturate the airwaves with ads. McDonnell spent $6.7 million in the first three weeks of October to Deeds' $4.9 million.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, also has a funding advantage in his re-election bid. He raised $496,033 in the first three weeks of the month and had $524,445 in the bank. Democratic challenger Jody Wagner raised $463,856 and had a balance of $237,365.

Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Steve Shannon reported nearly identical fundraising totals for the period, with each pulling in a little more than $532,000. But Shannon had $955,436 in available cash to Cuccinelli's $153,863.

In a related development Monday, a state board of elections staffer recommended thousands of dollars in fines against out-of-state political groups for failing to file timely reports disclosing their donors. The groups targeted for penalties include the Democratic Governors Association, the Republican Governors Association, the Republican State Leadership Committee and several unions and special interest groups.

The steps were outlined in a memo by David Allen, the board's campaign finance manager. The board's staff examined reports by all out-of-state groups in response to a complaint by Republican activist Gary Byler of Virginia Beach. Byler charged that Deeds and Democratic groups have collected millions of dollars from labor groups that either failed to register with the state board or failed to disclose donors according to state law.

Allen indicated that the staff is still reviewing whether large contributors to the DGA and other out-of-state committees filed required reports with the state board.