John Raese Cuts John Machin Lead To Six

By JohnRaese4SenateAll Rights Reserved.

Morgantown – John Raese, Republican nominee for the United States Senate seat formerly held by the late Robert Byrd, has cut Democratic nominee Governor Joe Manchin’s lead in the latest poll by 10 points, according to the latest Rasmussen poll released early this afternoon. Rasmussen’s previous poll had Manchin leading Raese by 16 points, 51% – 35% in late July.

“We knew this race would tighten up,” said Jim Dornan, Raese’s campaign manager. Obviously, the voters are responding in a very positive way to John’s message of repealing Obamacare, improving this Administration’s disastrous economy, and working to lower taxes.”

“John will go to Washington to oppose Obama’s agenda,” Dornan concluded.

From Rasmussen Report’s press release on the poll:

However, there’s a gap in support for the governor’s Senate run between those who Strongly Approve of his performance and those who Somewhat Approve. While Manchin holds a dominant lead among voters who Strongly Approve of his performance as governor, the race is a virtual tie among those who Somewhat Approve of Manchin’s job.

Perhaps one explanation for this divide is that among those voters who Somewhat Approve of Manchin’s performance, 64% Strongly Disapprove of President Obama’s performance.

Overall, voters in West Virginia are more critical of the President than voters on the national level as measured in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Just 29% in West Virginia approve of Obama’s performance, while 70% disapprove.

Both Manchin and Raese pick up 67% support from their respective parties following Saturday’s primaries. Those numbers represent an 11-point jump in support from Republicans for Raese and an 11-point decrease in Democratic support for Manchin. Among voters not affiliated with either major political party in the state, Raese holds a 45% to 40% edge.

Overall, just four percent (4%) of West Virginia voters give the U.S. economy good or excellent ratings, while 65% rate the economy as poor. While only 16% say economic conditions are getting better, 64% say they are getting worse.

The survey of 500 Likely Voters in West Virginia was conducted on August 29, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/-4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

TEXT CREDIT: Raese for Senate Committee