CHARLESTON – He still hasn’t officially entered the gubernatorial race, but a recent poll shows West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey leads all Republican contenders.
The poll, conducted last month by New Jersey-based National Research Inc., shows Morrisey at 28 percent among 600 likely Republican primary voters. Delegate Moore Capito comes in at 15 percent, Secretary of State Mac Warner follows at 11 percent with Huntington businessman Chris Miller at 6 percent. State Auditor J.B. McCuskey and Jeff Mullins each garnered 3 percent of those polled.
But, 29 percent of those polled say they still are undecided.
“The undecided number in a multi-candidate hypothetical ballot is a little bit high, but those underlying numbers like job approval and favorable numbers really indicate a lot of strength Morrisey has,” Adam Gellar of National Research said March 16 on MetroNews’ Talkline program hosted by Hoppy Kercheval. “If Attorney General Morrisey were to announce, he becomes the instant front runner. …
“Everything in this survey tells me he would be in great shape.”
Gov. Jim Justice can’t seek a third term, and he’s hinted he might run to unseat incumbent U.S. Senator Joe Manchin in the 2024. Morrisey’s name also has been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for Manchin’s seat. He lost to Manchin by three percentage points in 2018. U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney already has announced plans to seek the Senate seat.
The poll was paid for by the Black Bear PAC, which supports Morrisey. The political action committee has $2 million in its war chest, half of which came from Chicago businessman Richard Uihlein. Forbes says the billionaire businessman is the fourth largest individual donor to political campaigns, giving $22 million to conservative GOP candidates in the 2022 election.
The poll indicates Morrisey is better known than the other GOP candidates, having 93 percent name recognition, compared to 76 for Capito and 69 for Warner. Of those who know of Morrisey, 58 percent have a favorable opinion and 25 have an unfavorable opinion.
It also showed Morrisey has a 67 percent approval rating of his job performance with only 18 percent disapproving. The poll also showed former President Donald Trump’s approval rating in West Virginia remains at 79 percent with 18 percent viewing him unfavorably.
The poll of 600 likely West Virginia GOP primary voters was conducted from February 23 to February 28 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.