The latest edition of the MetroNews West Virginia Poll shows Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump with an 18 point lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The poll conducted last month by Repass Research for MetroNews shows Trump at 49 percent, Clinton with 31 percent, Libertarian Gary Johnson at ten percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at four percent. Six percent are not sure.
While Trump remains below 50 percent, a closer look at the poll findings shows that his support is broad, crossing a number of political and socio-economic categories.
Although Trump struggles with support from women in some states, he is backed here equally by men and women at 49 percent. Only 32 percent of West Virginia women who plan to vote in the election back Clinton.
Trump has the advantage over Clinton in every age group except one. Clinton has a 37-30 advantage among 25-34 year olds. Trump dominates with younger voters. 54 percent of 18-24 year olds plan to vote for him, while just eight percent say they will vote for Clinton.
If Trump had to rely just on Republicans, he would be trailing here, but his support extends well beyond his party. 53 percent of independent voters are backing Trump, compared with just 14 percent for Clinton. Those numbers become more significant when considering that one in five voters is now independent.
Trump even culls significant support from Clinton’s party. 27 percent of Democrats in our poll back him, while just seven percent of Republicans will vote for Clinton.
Clinton, as you might expect, does have a distinct advantage with West Virginia voters who identify themselves as liberal, with 62 percent backing her compared with just 18 percent for Trump. However, Trump has the backing of an overwhelming number of conservatives—76 percent to eight percent. Trump also has an 11 point lead with moderates—42 percent to 31 percent.
Clinton also does better among more highly educated voters. 45 percent of West Virginians with a graduate degree support her, compared with 31 percent for Trump. Voters with college degrees are fairly even—38 percent for Clinton and 36 percent for Trump.
However, Trump has an overwhelming advantage with voters who have some college or less—55 percent to 26 percent.
Trump also wins all income levels, with Clinton coming close (38 percent to 40 percent) only with those making less than $25,000. Union households support Trump 52 percent to 28 percent.
The numbers represent a snapshot in time, and they have a margin of error of nearly five percent, so another poll taken next week would likely show different numbers. However, Trump’s advantage in nearly every statistical category means there simply are not many avenues for Clinton to make up significant ground in the state.