In a piece of rare good news for the Democrats, the new Rasmussen poll of the West Virginia Senate race has Gov. Joe Manchin, a relatively conservative Dem, retaking the lead over Republican businessman John Raese in the special election to succeed the late Dem Sen. Robert Byrd.
The numbers: Manchin 49%, Raese 46%. The survey of likely voters has a ±4% margin of error. In the previous survey from last week, Raese enjoyed a healthy lead of 50%-43%. The last time Rasmussen had Manchin ahead was in September.
This race has pitted Manchin’s widespread popularity as governor against President Obama’s deep unpopularity in the state. Manchin has taken various steps to distance himself from the national Democrats — most notably when he taped a commercial in which he took a rifle and shot a “cap and trade bill.” He may have also gained some traction by casting Raese as a “crazy” right-wing extremist.
The TPM Poll Average gives Manchin a narrow lead of 47.3%-46.4%.
