Manchin has 5-point lead over GOP challenger in West Virginia Senate race: poll

Incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) holds a 5-point lead over Republican challenger and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey ahead of next week’s midterms, according to a new poll.

Manchin’s advantage is just outside the margin of error of 4.9 percentage points for the MetroNews poll published Thursday. 

{mosads}The poll found that 45 percent of likely voters plan to back Manchin, while 40 percent said they’ll vote for Morrisey and 11 percent will support Libertarian candidate Rusty Hollen.

The poll’s results were based on interviews with 400 likely voters in West Virginia from Oct. 19 to 30.

The same poll in August showed Manchin with an 8-point lead.

Manchin is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection in states that President Trump won in 2016. He is considered potentially vulnerable in next week’s midterm, but polling has consistently shown him with a lead over Morrisey, who has been endorsed by Trump.

The Cook Political Report gives Manchin the edge in the race, rating it as leaning Democrat. FiveThirtyEight‘s Senate forecast also favors Manchin, predicting that he has nearly a 90 percent chance to retain his seat.