I missed these because I was in Florida at the Young Republican convention. Two stories about the GOP in light red states.
First, Marc Ambinder references an old poll that has Hillary up substantially in West Virginia:
A survey of 400 likely voters completed in May by the political consulting firm of Fabrizio, McLaughlin and Associates finds that if the election were held now 46 percent would be more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate, 24 percent for the Republican candidate while 29 percent are unsure.
…
The research also shows that if the election were held now Clinton would carry West Virginia in a head to head match-up with McCain or Giuliani. Clinton beats McCain 41 percent to 34 percent with 25 percent undecided and beats Giuliani 42 percent to 36 percent with 22 percent undecided.
I knocked on a bunch of doors in Martinsburg, WV in 2004. The Bush appeal in WV was very simple: God, guns, and abortion. Voters told me that they supported George W. Bush because, for example, "He’s a good man and a good Christian." I have trouble seeing that same kind of feeling in West Virginia for any of the leading GOP candidates except, maybe, Fred Thompson.
On Saturday, WaPo ran a story about Virginia:
Slightly more than half of Virginia residents said they have an unfavorable view of the national Republican Party, including 60 percent of independents, according to the poll.
By comparison, 55 percent of residents, including half of independents, said they have a favorable impression of national Democrats.
These are bad, bad news for the GOP.
Tags: Polls, Republicans, Virginia, West Virginia
