The latest independent poll in the Virginia Democratic race for governor has Terry McAuliffe leading his two rivals, former state Rep. Brian Moran and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, ahead of the June 9 primary election.

So it wasn’t a surprise that McAuliffe, a well-funded businessman and former Democratic National Committee chairman, was on the receiving end of some criticisms at a debate Tuesday.

Early in the debate, which was held in Danville, near the North Carolina border about 250 miles from Washington, D.C., Deeds noted that McAuliffe’s 2007 book, What A Party!, listed the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as an accomplishment of the Clinton administration.