Hillary Clinton is nine percentage points ahead of an unnamed Republican candidate, West Virginians aren’t satisfied that “things are headed in the right direction” and West Virginia is not ready for legalized marijuana, according to a wide-ranging poll conducted by Orion Strategies.
Orion Strategies conducted the statewide, live-interview telephone survey of historic voters in West Virginia to test various topics of interest among the state’s residents.
“Every year, we conduct polls on behalf of political campaigns, media outlets, universities, industry associations and labor unions,” said Orion Strategies owner Curtis Wilkerson. “Often, there are questions we would like to ask if only we had the time.”
Key findings of the survey:
In a hypothetical matchup between Hillary Clinton and an unnamed Republican candidate for the 2016 Presidential Election, Clinton leads 39 percent to 30 percent with the rest undecided.
Only 36 percent of respondents believe things “here in this part of West Virginia” are headed in the right direction, with 51 percent believing that things are on the wrong track and the remainder undecided.
On the topic of guns in West Virginia, the survey found the following:
- 63 percent of West Virginia households currently have a firearm (compared to the national average of 41 percent).
- 75 percent of all respondents believe that “universal background criminal and mental checks should be mandatory in order to purchase firearms from any location.” 17 percent oppose and the remainder is undecided.
Other Social Issues include:
- 59 percent of respondents believe the death penalty should be reinstated in West Virginia. 24 percent oppose and 17 percent are undecided.
- Only 27 percent believe that marijuana should be legalized with 66 percent against and 7 percent undecided.
- 30 percent of respondents believe that civil unions between homosexual couples should be legalized in the state, with 62 percent against and 8 percent undecided.
- 55 percent of respondents agree with the decision by the US Military to allow female soldiers to serve in combat zones, 38 percent disagree and 7 percent are undecided.
Later this week, more results will be released regarding the WVU-Marshall Football Matchup, use of smart phones and social networking, police protection in schools, purchasing alcohol on Sunday and MTV’s Buck Wild television series.
Orion Strategies conducted the survey by live telephone interview with 305 historic, likely voters in West Virginia on March 13th, 14th and 15th. The survey has a 5.6% margin of error with a 95% confidence rate.
