West Virginia: Pro-Life Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Tied With Senator Joe Manchin

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Sep 27, 2018   |   4:58PM   |   Washington, DC

A new poll in the closely-watched U.S. Senate race in West Virginia shows the candidates in a dead heat.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who sometimes votes pro-life and sometimes votes pro-abortion on issues like funding the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, is being challenged by pro-life state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. The Republican attorney general is strongly and consistently pro-life, according to the National Right to Life Committee.

The Hill reports a new poll by 1892 Polling for Morrisey’s campaign shows the candidates are even with 45 percent of the vote. The poll found 10 percent of voters are undecided.

Here’s more from the report:

In this poll, Morrisey narrowly leads Manchin among independent voters by 4 points, 41 to 37 percent. But, nearly a quarter — 22 percent — of independent voters remain undecided.

The poll also found that President Trump, who won West Virginia by one of his largest margins in 2016, still has a positive approval rating in the state, with 57 percent having a favorable view of the president and 38 percent having an unfavorable view.

The internal survey is an outlier from a number of recent public polls that show Manchin, who’s been in the Senate since 2010 and seeking a full second term, with a consistent lead. The latest public poll conducted online from Emerson College had Manchin ahead by 12 points.

Other recent polls have shown a smaller margin. A MetroNews Dominion Post West Virginia poll had Manchin up 8 points and a GOP poll from Harper Polling had the Democratic senator up 6 points, saying that Morrisey benefited from a “bump” from a Trump rally.

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Morrisey’s campaign commented on the poll: “In polling conducted after President Trump’s August visit to West Virginia, Harper Polling noticed a significant ‘Trump bump’ for Morrisey. Trump’s involvement in the West Virginia Senate race will continue this weekend with a rally in Wheeling for Morrisey. President Trump’s engagement in the West Virginia Senate race continues to have a more significant impact here in the Mountain State than in any U.S. Senate race in the country.”

Manchin has just a 33-percent pro-life voting record this session and 44 percent overall from NRLC. While he did vote to support a 20-week abortion ban, he also voted to continue giving tax dollars to the nation’s largest abortion chain, Planned Parenthood. He also is a key swing vote in U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

In contrast, Morrisey is strongly pro-life and supports legal protections for unborn babies. He opposes using tax dollars to pay for abortion. As West Virginia attorney general, Morrisey supported several cases involving pro-life and religious freedom issues. He joined the national lawsuit supporting conscience rights of Little Sisters of the Poor, and partnered with other state attorneys general to defend a Texas pro-life law that required abortion facilities to meet basic health and safety standards and a North Carolina law prohibiting abortions on unborn babies after 20 weeks when strong scientific evidence indicates they can feel pain.