Early W.V. exits: It's the economy…
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 6:40 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2008, Primaries
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell, Adam Verdugo and Barbara Bernhard
West Virginia is one of the poorest states. It ranks 48th out of 50. The downturn in the economy has had a tangible effect for residents of the Mountain State. Eighty-eight percent of the Democratic primary voters today say the recession has had a negative impact on their families. Only 11% say it’s had little or no effect.
The average income is $38,000 a year and, even though the state has some of the lowest gas prices in the country, the pain at the pump is still very real. Voters like Hillary Clinton's proposal of a federal gas tax holiday. Almost two-thirds of voters say the tax holiday is a good idea. Only a third did not like the plan.
Seven-in-10 Clinton voters support her idea to suspend the gas tax for the summer. Obama opposes the plan, often calling it a "gimmick," and a little more than half his voters agreed.
NBC's AnaMaria Arumi adds that West Virginia is a state slow to change, and one where the “new economy” has hardly made an impact. One national organization that ranks state economies based on the technology, innovation, and other resources that help fuel job growth rated West Virginia dead last.
According to the exit polls, the economy is considered the No. 1 by a 64% majority of voters in the West Virginia Democratic primary. The current economic slowdown appears to have taken a heavy toll in the Mountain State that tends to struggle even in good times.
Close to half (45%) of voters say the recession has affected their family a great deal, and another 43% say their family has been somewhat affected. The number of West Virginia voters who feel seriously impacted by the recession is about the same as we saw a week ago in our exit poll of Indiana voters. (North Carolinians felt they were doing better.)
The annual median household income in West Virginia is nearly $10,000 below the national average, so the rising price of gasoline would be expected to be especially burdensome here. Hillary Clinton’s proposed federal gas tax holiday was widely viewed as failing to sway many voters in last week’s primary.
How is it playing in West Virginia? Sixty-three percent of Democratic primary voters in the Mountain State say the tax holiday is a good idea, while 34% think it is a bad idea. Among white, working-class voters in particular, the gas tax holiday is especially popular. Sixty-seven percent of whites earning less than $50,000 a year give this idea a “thumbs up.”
