In the stretch run for the Republican primary for West Virginia’s next governor, three-term Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is in the lead over close competitors Moore Capito and Chris Miller, according to the most recent MetroNews West Virginia Poll.
Of likely Republican voters and independent voters who will request a Republican ballot, Morrisey had 32% of the vote, according to today’s release of the West Virginia Poll.
Miller, a businessman and son of Congresswoman Carol Miller, was next with 25 percent. Moore Capito, former House Judiciary chairman and son of Senator Shelley Moore Capito, was very close to that with 24 percent.
Two-term Secretary of State Mac Warner polled at 10 percent. The remainder of those polled were either undecided or favor some other candidate who was not listed as an option.
Morrisey’s support has held steady through months of polling, said Rex Repass, president of Research America, which conducted the poll. There has been some fluidity among the positioning of the other candidates.
“He really hasn’t changed. In our polling, he’s been around 31-32 percent this year,” Repass said of Morrisey.
“On the other hand, you’ve got some volatility with the other two contenders. You’ve got two candidates kind of biting at the heels of Patrick Morrisey.”
The poll was built on 407 completed surveys conducted online and by telephone from April 24 to May 1. Respondents were screened and qualified as registered Republicans and independents who plan to request a Republican ballot for the May 14 primary. Participants described high interest in the primary election and said they are likely to vote.
Respondents in all 55 West Virginia counties were included in the West Virginia Poll, which is sponsored by The Health Plan.
The overall confidence interval was +/- 4.9 percentage points.
Voting is already underway. The early voting period for the primary election started on Wednesday and ends on Saturday, May 11. West Virginia’s primary election is May 14.
The only Democrat in the race for governor is Huntington Mayor Steve Williams.
This is the second time in the past month that MetroNews has polled the Republican primary for governor. A poll released April 11 showed Capito and Morrisey running neck and neck — with Morrisey at 31% and Capito at 29 percent. Chris Miller came in with 16% support while Mac Warner was at 12 percent.
Throughout the past few weeks, voters have experienced an advertising blitz.
As of the most recent state reporting deadline for fundraising, campaigns for Morrisey, Miller and Capito each had more than a million dollars available to spend.
Miller’s campaign reported spending a whopping $2.7 million during the period. Miller has loaned his own campaign a little more than $3 million.
Overlapping that time, the MetroNews poll shows a bump in support for Miller.
“I think the most interesting data in this edition of the West Virginia Poll is the increase in support for Miller,” Repass said. “And that’s predominantly represented by strong conservatives in our sample.”
The latest poll shows that among likely voters who describe themselves as conservative, Morrisey has support of 33% compared to 27% of conservatives favoring Miller.
“When you look at the campaign that both Morrisey and Miller have waged, they’re both appealing to the same block of voters. But Miller has gained ground with that block of strong conservative Republicans,” Repass said.
A poll released last week by Coalition for West Virginia’s Future, a pro-Capito group, showed Capito at 31 percent, followed by 23% for Morrisey, 14% for Miller, 13% Warner and 18% undecided.
Capito got a key endorsement during the last few weeks when two-term Gov. Jim Justice officially backed his campaign. Since then, Capito has made several public appearances with Justice.
“In my view, the endorsement has not had an impact at this point,” Repass said. “The campaigning with the governor, who is obviously popular, could still have an impact on the election.”