CHARLESTON — The latest polling from a political action committee supporting Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in the Republican race for governor of West Virginia continues to show Morrisey in a solid lead, while Huntington businessman Chris Miller increases his support.
Black Bear PAC, a political action committee with ties to Morrisey and funded in part by national conservative advocacy organization Club for Growth, paid for its third poll conducted by WPA Intelligence.
The poll was conducted between April 1 and April 3 with 501 likely Republican primary voters with live telephone interviews with a 4.4% margin of error.
According to the poll, 37% of respondents said they would vote for Morrisey. That’s up by three points from polling conducted by WPAi between March 10 and March 12, when 34% said they would vote for Morrisey. However, it is down by two points from a WPAi poll conducted between Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, when 39% said they would support Morrisey.
“West Virginia conservatives know Patrick Morrisey is one of them,” said Scott Will, a senior advisor to Black Bear PAC and a former campaign manager for Morrisey’s attorney general races. “This poll proves once again that West Virginians are excited to elect Patrick Morrisey as Governor, the only candidate with an actual record of standing up for them.”
According to a review of the last several polls for the GOP primary for governor – including Emerson College Polling/Nexstar, Black Bear PAC, Americans for Prosperity, and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce – Morrisey has averaged 33% support among poll respondents. After a forum with GOP candidates for governor hosted by Nexstar TV stations in West Virginia, the Morrisey campaign said momentum was on their side.
“Patrick Morrisey has been surging in the polls, gaining momentum as the true grassroots candidate, continues to break fundraising records and bring in some of the state and country’s most prolific endorsements,” said Jonathan Ewing, Morrisey’s campaign manager. “It couldn’t be more clear that West Virginians are sick and tired of the political family dynasties and are excited to elect the only proven conservative Patrick Morrisey as their next Governor.”
In the latest Black Bear PAC/WPAi poll, 20% of respondents said they would vote for former House Judiciary Committee chairman Moore Capito. That’s down from 26% in March and 23% in November.
Capito – the son of U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and grandson of the late former governor Arch Moore – released a new TV ad Friday promoting the deportation by law enforcement of illegal immigrants, life imprisonment for fentanyl dealers, and eliminating the personal income tax.
“As governor, I’ll cut the state income tax completely and it will attract more companies and more jobs to West Virginia,” Capito said in the ad.
Capito also accused Morrisey of lobbying for pharmaceutical companies that either manufacture or distribute medication used in gender affirming care. Capito voted for House Bill 2007, prohibiting physicians from providing irreversible gender reassignment surgery or medication for gender-affirming care, such as hormones or puberty blockers, to children under 18 with certain exceptions.
The Black Bear PAC poll shows that Miller – a Huntington-based businessman and the son of U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va. – is picking up steam among voters. According to the poll, 19% of voters said they would support him for governor, up from 18% in March and 10% in November when he ranked last among the top four GOP candidates.
Miller’s growth in support is due in part to a $3 million personal loan to his campaign along with a blitz of TV ads over more than three months. Since January, Miller has put out 10 TV ads promoting himself as a businessman and a fighter and promoting his conservative platform.
Black Bear PAC and the Club for Growth have hit at Miller in TV ads of their own, attacking Miller for comments supporting recreational drug legalization, taking out a Paycheck Protection Plan forgivable loan for his businesses, and even mimicking former President Donald Trump in his TV ads for his car dealerships.
In his latest ad, Miller accused Morrisey of being supported by big-money interests. Both Black Bear PAC and the Club for Growth set a goal of raising $10 million – with $5 million already raised – to support Morrisey. Last year, the Club for Growth donated $2.1 million to Black Bear PAC.
“Like Trump, I come from business, not politics. We know how to build good teams to build big things,” Miller said in his latest ad. “As governor, big-money special interests will not be on my team, because they’re not on yours. That’s why they’re spending $5 million to stop me with dishonest ads.”
Miller has fired back with ads of his own, also attacking Morrisey for his lobbying work for pharmaceutical companies, accusing Morrisey of making money from companies pushing puberty-blocker medications used by transgender adults and children. In his statement Friday, Will accused Miller of trying to buy the governor’s race.
“Others in this race like to pretend to be something that they’re not.” Will said. “Some have even spent millions of their family’s money pretending to be conservative.”
Secretary of State Mac Warner’s support in the Black Bear PAC poll has changed very little, with 14% of respondents expressing support for Warner, the same percentage as November and up from 13% in March. But the number of undecided voters in the polls has shrunk over the last six months, from 14% in November, 10% in March, and 9% earlier this week.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com
