Posted on 07/09/2010 2:28:57 PM PDT by Chet 99
A special Senate election this November to replace the late Robert Byrd is still awaiting the green light from West Virginia’s attorney general, but popular Democratic Governor Joe Manchin is the early leader in hypothetical matchups with two of his possible Republican opponents.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in West Virginia, taken Thursday night, shows Manchin with 53% support, while Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito earns 39% of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer another candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided.
If former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland is his GOP rival, Manchin captures 65% voter support. Ireland picks up 26%. Three percent (3%) again like some other candidate, while six percent (6%) are undecided.
(Excerpt) Read more at rasmussenreports.com ...
Bottom line: competitive if Capito runs, but probably no chance if she declines.
This is not until 2012...today, we cares. A whole lot can happen between today and 2012.
Just let Sarah Palin do her magic.
West Virginia is that far to the left?
No, the WV AG has issued an opinion stating that they can have a special election in 2010. The question is whether Manchin, an extraordinarily popular Democratic governor in a Red State, will quit his safe position to run for Byrd's Senate seat.
it would be risky.
On economic issues, yes. Not so much on social issues.
On economic issues, yes. Not so much on social issues.
Scott Brown faced much worse odds.
Not true. Manchin can declare a special election for November 2010. He just got the Attorney General’s ruling today, I believe.
From what I hear, he has been a decent governor with fairly conservative policies. Hence he is popular. However, when in DC he will be daily voting to support Reid and 0bama. If his GOP opponent can successfully communicate this, he may have a hard time. Also, if he resigns to run his open Governor seat might be captured by a republican.
One would think if the (R) candidate runs on stopping “Cap&Tax”, he should win by a landslide considering its’ passage would financially bankrupt the state.
Funny, but Manchin lays claim to being pro-life. Capito doesn't, last I knew.
WV local politics is weird, and largely run by a (democRat Party) Good ol’ Boys network.
Capito is a squish on “life” issues ... she’s not an outright abortion supporter and has voted for some restrictions on abortion, but also voted in support of embryonic stem cell research.
And RINOs like Capito and Ireland.
Yeah. She’s not pro-life. Never has been.
I wouldn’t call her a RINO ... but she’s about as liberal a Republican as I could tolerate. It would be nice to see an actual conservative in that House seat.
Her rhetoric on life issues is worse than her voting record.
She thinks it’s okay to kill babies. In other words, unqualified for any office of trust in the United States.
Oh Lord. They might be running in 2010. Is this your way of ignoring polls again?
I’d bet you two bits that NRTL supports Manchin. He’s the darling of their WV chapter.
Sarah should stay far away from this race. This Manchin is LOVED in West Virginia.
Scott Brown faced a stupid and arrogant opponent. Manchin doesn't fall into that category.
It is such poor planning by the GOP...not to have a strong candidate in waiting with Byrd on deaths door...now they have to find a candidate that is strong enough to beat any dem.
It would be so difficult to vote in this election. Abortion is my number one issue and most important above all so since the Democrat is the pro-lifer in this race. Wow! I am glad I am not from West Virginia :)
Polls...HA...you bet.
* Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
* Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
* Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
* Voted YES on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
* Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
* Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
* Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
* Voted NO on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
* Voted YES on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)
* Rated 30% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
* Rated 55% by the NRLC, indicating a mixed record on abortion. (Dec 2006)
* Supported funding contraception and UN family planning. (Jul 1999)
Not a great record, but she's not Nazi Pelousy, either.
I wouldn't vote for Manchin, just because he's a 'Rat, regardless of who endorsed him.
I don't vote for 'Rats.
I was talking to one of my new neighbors in Kentucky and he was telling me about a guy up the road. Apparently the guy is fairly conservative in his political beliefs, but he is a yellow dog democrat. My neighbor says the guy votes democrat on every party vote, with no regard to the actual candidate at all. Literally, if Hitler was resurrected as the democratic candidate, this guy would vote for him.
I think Byrd’s constituency may have a few guys in it like that.
Sorry, no prolife, no support from me.
May as well be a D.
In all the polls that are all over this site. This particular poll is about as accurate as it can get. The Republican is a baby killer and the Democrat is pro-life....how screwed up is that? Nobody in West Virginia with any sense is going to vote for a person who approves of using a vacuum cleaner to kill a baby. I don’t care that the person is a so called Republican.
I don't vote for 'Rats (the party is pro-Death), and any member of "Republicans for Choice" is pretty well disqualified even with her squishy rather than outright pro-death voting record.
Recruit Jay Wolfe. I’d support him.
Guess what?
Two years ago, Jay Wolfe got thirty-something percent of the vote against Jay Rockefeller.
Nice guy, but he has a record of losing.
The WV legislature could clarify the law so that a special election is held this year. Whether the Governor wants to run would probably decided whether the legislature does this or not. The thinking is that the Governor would appoint a placeholder to serve out the unexpired term and not himself, without a special, but might want to run himself if there is one. The Governor has positioned himself as a conservative Democrat. But, it would be more difficult to do this running for federal office than for state office. Since the polling results are for a hypothetical contest, they aren’t as meaningful as polling involving actual contestants. Nevertheless, being above 50 percent is a very good place to be.
He got 38% against Rockefeller in ‘02. Heck, that’s just as much as Capito is polling. Why not have a real conservative?
Like I said, I’d support the guy.
By the way, Jay got that 38% with practically no money. The Republican Party didn’t lift a finger to help. The Bushes were in love with Capito, but hated Jay Wolfe. Too conservative. GW came to the state during the ‘02 race and completely stiffed Wolfe. They put Wolfe on the other side of the arena, and placed Capito right next to the president on the podium. It was a disgusting thing to see, especially if you know Jay and understand what a solid, decent, intelligent, Christian patriot he is.
This poll explains what the Democrats have been up to over the past week. They have internal polling that shows that Manchin will win against any possible Republican candidate, so the Democrat Secretary of State and Attorney General discover that the law would permit an early special election this year provided the Governor asks for it in a special session of the Legislature. You can be sure that he will do just that.
If the polls were not favorable, there would be no talk of a 2010 special election, and they would all be saying that they have to respect the law and wait until 2012. Immediately after Byrd died, a number of Freepers were clamoring for a special election this November. Looks like they will get their wish and the outcome will almost certainly be a Democrat Senator in Byrd’s seat.
Dems want cap and trade. Only the GOP can save the WV coal industry. Find a Republican mailman. He’ll win.
its hard to understand any hard working American voting rat....like in Minn...good farmers and their families and they go rat every time, with a lot of help from the idiot third partiers....
some people are so stupid....
Manchin is well liked in the state. Manchin will win the senate...... I’d like to see Betty Ireland back in politics...her Mom was ill before and she took care of her...she has since passed.
Yeah, this guy is the epitome of what many of my friends in Seattle think of people in Kentucky.
I’m not surprised that a state that would give a life-long seat to Byrd would vote in another Dem....
We will never get to a super majority of 60 senators to repeal death care and other Barry initiatives if we can not win in a conservative state like WV.
It is sad we have mile long posts about some worthless RINO in ultra liberal states and how evil the RINO’s are but will elect a LIBERAL who will have a conservative rating in the senate of around 12 like the rest of the 20 something so called ‘conservatives’ from conservative states and have post like this here. There should be outrage.
Like other conservative states these people are of 2 types the greedy ‘bring home the bacon’ at all cost, even if it means destroying their country or the as stupid as the human species can be crowd.
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