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New polling shows slight lead for McKinley over Mooney in congressional race

CHARLESTON — New polling in the race between 1st District Congressman David McKinley and 2nd District Congressman Alex Mooney shows a slight lead for McKinley going into the May Republican primary in the new northern 2nd congressional district.

According to the findings of a poll conducted by North Star Opinion Research and sent to the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce on Friday, McKinley maintains a slight lead over Mooney in both a five-way race and a one-on-one race.

“We found that, while Congressmen David McKinley and Alex Mooney are similarly-known to voters, McKinley enjoys a modest lead and the potential to grow once voters learn more about his consistent work on behalf of the state’s voters,” wrote North Star Opinion Research pollsters Dan Judy and Jon McHenry.

Pollsters found that McKinley would lead Mooney 38 percent to 33 percent in a five-way race – a 5-point difference. Another 25 percent of respondents were undecided.

Morgantown resident Susan Buchser-Lochocki, Wheeling resident Rhonda Hercules, and West Union resident Mike Seckman are also on the May 10 Republican primary ballot.

In a head-to-head contest, pollsters found that McKinley would lead Mooney by 7 points, with respondents supporting McKinley 46 percent and Mooney receiving 39 percent percent support and 15 percent undecided.

According to the poll, McKinley is strong across the electorate, leading among both absolutely certain and very likely voters (45 percent to 40 percent and 51 percent to 34 percent, respectively), and among both registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters (45 percent to 39 percent and 49 percent to 40 percent, respectively).

Both McKinley and Mooney enjoyed high name recognition and similar levels of approval and disapproval. McKinley had a 78 percent name I.D., with a 41 percent favorable rating and a 24 percent unfavorable rating.

Mooney had an 81 percent name I.D., with 40 percent favorable rating and a 24 percent unfavorable rating.

“Alex Mooney maintains a substantial lead in this race, and this poll differs from several other recent polls,” said Teemu Garrity, campaign manager for Mooney. “Voters have rallied to Alex Mooney’s side by increasing numbers as they find out about Rep. Mooney’s endorsement from President Trump and McKinley’s liberal voting record.”

The survey was conducted with 400 likely Republican and unaffiliated primary voters by telephone with live interviewers. The poll has a 4.9 percent margin of error.

A request for comment from the McKinley campaign was not returned Monday afternoon.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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