CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A recent poll among likely voters in the 2024 U.S. Senate Republican Primary shows Gov. Jim Justice outdistancing other possible candidates including five-term Congressman Alex Mooney.
The poll was conducted by National Public Affairs, which has worked with Justice in the past but did this poll on its own, NPA partner Justin Clark said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Out of the 360 likely voters interviewed March 14-17, Justice had nearly a 100% name identification and a 77% favorability rating.
“That number holds over all demographic groups,” Clark said.
Seventeen percent of those surveyed found the two-term governor unfavorable.
There are new numbers on a Jim Justice vs. Alex Mooney poll. What do these numbers show? Who was polled? Justin Clark, Partner with National Public Affairs, discusses the poll with @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/Ee3hT0fswt
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) April 3, 2023
Mooney, who announced a Senate run a week after he was reelected last November, had a 47% favorable rating and a 21% unfavorable rating from those interviewed. Clark said more than a third of the respondents hadn’t heard of Mooney or had no opinion about him.
In a potential head-to-head match-up with Mooney the poll said Justice would receive 55% of the vote with Mooney getting 24%. The polls showed 21% undecided.
Mooney said during an appearance Monday on “Talkline” that he would look forward to contrasting his stand on the issues with Gov. Justice much like he did when he ran against Rep. David McKinley in the 2022 GOP primary for the newly redrawn congressional district.
“I’ve put my name forth now five times, I’ve been elected five times to the House of Representatives. I’ve represented two-thirds of the state. I think I’m in a good position. I have a voting record on issues I’d love to talk about,” Mooney said.
A second potential match-up in the NPA poll including state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and coal miner Chris Rose with Justice and Mooney. In that race, Justice was favored by 43% of the poll respondents, Morrisey 21%, Mooney 10%, Rose 2% with 24% undecided.
Clark said Justice represents what a Republican is today in West Virginia.
“He understands their issues and the voters understand him,” Clark said. “A lot can happen in a year, that’s for sure, but Governor Justice certainly starts out in a strong position.”
Clark said if Justice did decide to seek the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2024 it would be “an uneventful primary.”
Mooney said he’s been underestimated in every election.
“And that’s fine,” he said. “There’s an advantage to being underestimated.”
Justice has said he’s leaning toward a Senate run and he expects to announce his decision soon.
Sitting U.S. Senator Joe Manchin has most recently said he hasn’t made a decision about what he’ll do in 2024. Morrisey is scheduled to announce Tuesday what office he’ll seek in 2024.
The NPA poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 5.2%.