WHEELING - New polling numbers show Republican Bill Maloney gaining ground in the race to be West Virginia's next governor, but acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin still shows a six-point lead as they head toward the Oct. 4 special election.
Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, N.C., released polling numbers Wednesday indicating 46 percent voter support across the state for Tomblin and 40 percent for Maloney. The survey of 708 likely West Virginia voters was conducted Sept. 1-4, with a margin of error at plus or minus 3.7 percent, according to Public Policy Polling.
The agency's last polling in the West Virginia governor's race, conducted just after the May 14 special primary election, showed a 15 percentage point spread between the candidates. In that poll, Tomblin had the support of 45 percent of voters and Maloney 30 percent.
Public Policy Polling pointed out what it termed an "unusual" finding in the most recent poll: Both candidates have become more popular with voters since May.
While increasing his name recognition, Maloney has nearly doubled his favorability with voters - jumping from 23 percent approval in May to 43 percent now.
Tomblin's approval rating in his current job was 40 percent in May and has increased to 50 percent in the new poll.
"Tomblin is as popular as ever," Public Policy Polling reports. "Fifty percent of voters approve of him, to only 25 percent who disapprove. That makes him one of the best liked governors in the country, and that spread is basically identical to the 49/24 one he had when he enjoyed a 33-point advantage over Maloney.
"The reason the race has gotten so much closer is that as voters get to know Maloney better they're really liking him. In May, Maloney was known to only 47 percent of voters in the state, and they basically split evenly in their assessments of him. ... Now that (his) name recognition has shot up to 72 percent, folks are mostly reacting positively to him."
The momentum in this race is definitely in Bill Maloney's direction, said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "The problem for him now is that he's pretty much maxed out on Republican support so he'll need to win over a lot of Democrats in the closing stretch of the campaign to get over the 50 percent mark."
Of the 708 who responded to the poll, half identified themselves as being more conservative than not, with 28 percent classifying themselves as "somewhat conservative" and 22 percent "very conservative." Another 26 percent said they consider themselves "moderate."
Among those polled, 74 percent indicated they were age 46 or older, while another 18 percent said they were between ages 30 and 45.