CHARLESTON, W.Va. — President Barack Obama’s approval rating among West Virginians continues to fall, according to a new MetroNews West Virginia Poll from Repass Research and Strategic Consulting.
In a survey of likely voters, 24 percent said they approved of Obama’s work ahead of his final year in the White House, while 71 percent said they disapproved. It’s the highest disapproval rate for the president among West Virginians in three years.
Among registered Democrats, the president’s disapproval rate is 39 percent. Among 18- to 34-year-olds, an important voting bloc for Obama in 2012, his favorability rating is 30 percent, the poll showed.
The initial West Virginia Poll results were released on Thursday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
On a generic ballot, 48 percent preferred a Republican to serve as the next president of the United States, while 28 percent said a Democrat should return to the White House. Another 24 percent were unsure.
Of those questioned, 49 percent identified as Democrats, 35 percent were Republicans, 14 percent were independents and 2 percent named another political party.
Rex Repass, West Virginia Poll founder, called support for a Democratic president in West Virginia “very soft.” Only 47 percent of self-identified Democrats said they would like to see a Democrat win the 2016 presidential election.
Another survey question involved the current state of the nation: “All in all, do you think things in the nation are generally headed in the right direction, or do you feel that things are off on the wrong track?”
In response, 16 percent said things were headed in the right direction, 76 percent said the U.S. was on the wrong track and 8 percent were unsure.
According to Repass, those most likely to see the nation heading in the wrong direction were Republicans, at 91 percent, and conservatives, at 89 percent.
However, all demographic groups—including self-proclaimed liberals, registered Democrats, males, females, and in every age category—held pessimistic views of the direction of the U.S.
On Friday morning, poll numbers for the 2016 gubernatorial race in West Virginia will be released on MetroNews “Talkline.”
The MetroNews West Virginia Poll from Repass Research and Strategic Consulting included a sampling of 402 likely West Virginia voters who were contacted and questioned between Aug. 19 and Aug. 30 via random digital dialing, landline phone, cell phone and opt-in Internet panel.
Created in January 1980, the West Virginia Poll is a non-partisan survey of public opinion. For the first time, MetroNews is partnering with Repass for the poll ahead of the 2016 primary and general elections.