Rasmussen: GOP's Raese Moves to 6-Point Lead in W.Va.

Republican John Raese now holds a 6-point lead on Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin in West Virginia’s increasingly competitive U.S. Senate race.

The Oct. 5 telephone survey of 750 likely voters in West Virginia finds Raese with 50 percent support, while the state’s highly popular governor earns just 44 percent of the vote. Two percent prefer some other candidate, and 5 percent are undecided.

These findings now move this race from a tossup to leans GOP in the Rasmussen Reports Election Senate Balance of Power rankings.

Raese, a businessman and unsuccessful Senate candidate in 2006, first edged ahead of Manchin last week, 48 percent to 46 percent. The race, which initially seemed safely Manchin’s, now appears to be pitting the governor’s popularity in the state against President Obama’s unpopularity with West Virginia voters.