Manchin’s most obvious problem is Obama’s 29 percent approval rating in the state. Only 12 percent believe that Obama’s policies have helped the state economically, while 55 percent in the coal-rich state believe they have hurt. That is borne out in the slim 28 percent of respondents who supported a plan to address global warming like the one Obama favors.
Raese has hit Manchin hard for his support of the president’s national health care law and Manchin has played up his opposition to certain aspects of it and is now calling for the legislation to be repealed. One can see why. Sixty three percent of respondents favored repealing the legislation.
Even among Manchin supporters, 18 percent still said they hoped their vote would register their dissatisfaction with the Obama agenda. Raese drew a quarter of all Democrats and 54 percent of independents.
Also worrisome for Manchin: Of the 6 percent still undecided in the race, more than two thirds hoped their eventual decision would register their disapproval for Obama.
That last sentence suggests Raese's lead has room to grow, which Manchin can ill-afford. This race appears to be slipping away from Democrats.
Yesterday we highlighted Gallup's generic Congressional ballot, which shows the GOP leading by double-digits among likely voters. Human encyclopedia Michael Barone calls the numbers "astonishing" and wonders if we might witness a Republican rout in November after all. Barone focuses special analysis on a recent poll (first highlighted by Ed Morrissey) suggesting longtime Minnesota Democrat James Oberstar's seat may be in jeopardy. This was an "outside shot" race that I mentioned in my Big Ten piece.
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