Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has a higher approval rating than President Donald Trump, according to a Thursday poll.
The incumbent senator earned a 51 percent approval rating among voters in West Virginia, compared to the president’s 48 percent approval in the MetroNews poll.
The deep red state looked favorably on Trump in 2016, as he earned 69 percent of the vote. Comparatively, Manchin earned 60.6 percent during the 2012 election, up significantly from the 53.5 percent he earned in the 2010 special election.
Despite being a Democrat, Manchin has supported moderate positions in the name of representing the heavily Republican electorate in the state. Voters supported a Republican for president every election since 2000, and the state is firmly considered to be a red state. However, some political scientists assert that Manchin has a chance in the upcoming election.
“I really think that West Virginia is really the last Southern state to turn red,” West Virginia University political science professor Patrick Hickey told The Hill about the race. “I think that Manchin is really good at retail politics, he’s tried really hard to establish himself as someone who’s an independent.”
MetroNews surveyed 400 likely voters from Aug. 11 through Aug. 20. The poll carried a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points in either direction.
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