TSG Consulting, a public relations and governmental affairs firm in Charleston and Beckley, has released polling results on the supreme court race. The numbers show Menis Ketchum and Spike Maynard ranking first and second respectively for "first choice" among likely voters in West Virginia's May 13 Democratic primary.
The poll, which was conducted by telephone on Monday by Orion Strategies, finds that 24 percent of poll respondents favor Ketchum as their first choice for one of the two court positions up for election. Maynard ranks in at 17 percent. Margaret Workman ranks third with16 percent and has the strongest support at 18 percent as respondents' second choice for the court with 31 percent of the likely voters still undecided.
When first-choice and second-choice numbers are combined, Ketchum and Workman are virtually tied for first
The first-choice results are:
Menis Ketchum 24%
Elliot "Spike" Maynard 17%
Margaret Workman 16%
Bob Bastress 11%
Undecided 31%
The second-choice results are:
Margaret Workman 18%
Bob Bastress 12%
Menis Ketchum 11%
Elliot "Spike" Maynard 10%
Undecided 48%
In the press release issued by TSG consulting Tom Susman, president is quoted as interpreting the numbers in this manner: "Ketchum's widespread advertising has evidently helped him. Meanwhile, the heavy negative campaigning by opponents of Maynard might be having an effect."
When all the responses for the top two votes are combined, these are the results:
Menis Ketchum 18%
Margaret Workman 17%
Elliot "Spike" Maynard 13%
Bob Bastress 12%
Undecided 40%
"The survey cannot reflect the number of single-shot voters - those who purposefully choose to vote for only one person, either to assist a favorite candidate or because they simply don't have a second choice in mind," Chris Hall, managing member of TSG Consulting, said.
The public opinion survey was conducted on Monday, May 5, by Orion Strategies on behalf of TSG Consulting among 368 West Virginians registered as Democrats and independent voters. The sample was chosen at random from the larger universe of Democrats who have voted in at least one of the last two primaries and independents who have voted in previous general elections.
The margin of error for this survey was 5.01 percent with a 95 percent confidence rate. |
