West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey holds a seven-point lead over his nearest competitor in the Mountain State’s Republican gubernatorial primary, according to a Research America/West Virginia MetroNews poll.
Morrisey leads the pack with 32 percent of the support of registered Republicans “and independents who will request a Republican ballot.” He is up one point from Research America/WV MetroNews’s April poll and is staving off his political dynasty opponents.
Businessman Chris Miller — son of U.S. Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) — is second, with 25 percent support, followed by Moore Capito at 24 percent. Moore Capito — a former state delegate and son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) — slipped five points compared to April’s poll, while Miller is up nine points.
West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner rounds out the field with ten percent support in this poll, marking a two-point loss since April. Nine percent are either undecided or would vote for someone else.
With the movement between Capito and Miller, Morrisey’s lead over the field has grown by a net five points since April.
Looking deeper, the support breakdown among strictly registered Republicans is 31 percent for Morrisey, 27 percent for Miller, 23 percent for Capito, and ten percent for Warner.
Morrisey leads with independents who are likely to vote in the primary at 31 percent. Capito fares second best on this front, with 25 percent, followed by Miller at 21 percent and Warner at ten percent.
The men are looking to earn the nomination in the May 14 primary, as Trump-backed Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) has termed out and is vying for retiring Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) seat.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)
The survey sampled 407 respondents from April 24 to May 1, 2024, and the confidence interval is ± 4.9 percentage points.
It follows an outlier survey from the pro-Capito PAC, Coalition for West Virginia’s Future, which the Weirton Daily Times notes was conducted by NMB Research.
The survey showed Capito, whom Donald Trump Jr. has encouraged voters not to back, leading at 31 percent, with Morrisey in second place at 23 percent. Miller garnered 14 percent, while Warner took 13 percent.
The pro-Capito PAC poll is the only survey that Morrisey has not led dating back to October, according to FiveThirtyEight.
That poll was conducted from April 20 to 22, 2024, and had a margin of error of ± 4.38 percentage points.
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