Over half of West Virginians have an unfavorable view of Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin in a WMOV/Triton Polling and Research poll Thursday.
Two-thirds of respondents, 66.1%, said they disapproved of Manchin while 23.3% held a favorable view of the senator, the poll found, according to the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. The poll surveyed 762 respondents between Aug. 24-26 with a 3.5% margin of error, the outlet reported.
The poll found that prominent Republicans would defeat the senator in hypothetical races, according to the outlet. Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey would defeat Manchin 49.5% to 36.2%. Manchin defeated Morrisey in 2018 by three points. Mooney would defeat Manchin by seven points, 44.9% to 37.9% and Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice would also defeat Manchin in a hypothetical race by 46.5% to 32%.
The poll came 24 days after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Manchin sponsored with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The $740 billion spending package includes $437 billion aimed at funding clean energy, lowering healthcare prescription drug costs and $80 billion toward hiring over 80,000 new IRS agents. The legislation also includes a 15% minimum tax on corporations making over $1 billion per year.
New poll shows @Sen_JoeManchin paying the price after voting for the Inflation Reduction Act and against West Virginia’s fossil fuel industry:
“Only 26% said they had a favorable impression of Manchin, and 66% rated him unfavorably.”https://t.co/VAkbaDUf2F
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) September 8, 2022
The moderate senator received backlash for opposing President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill in December 2021, citing concerns surrounding the national debt and inflation. Biden, needing Manchin’s vote to pass the bill, met to negotiate with the senator as the legislation’s deadline to pass neared, though the West Virginia senator told reporters in February that Build Back Better “is dead.” (RELATED: Joe Manchin Says He Was ‘Ostracized’ And ‘Victimized’ Over Killing Build Back Better)
Manchin signaled support for renegotiating certain provisions in the future, eventually supporting climate change measures, universal pre-K and mitigation measures.
The results follow West Virginia Republican criticism of Manchin over his support for the Inflation Reduction Act. Republican West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney has attacked Manchin in campaign ads and in op-ed pieces notably over his support of the spending package, according to the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.