WV-Sen: Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin's campaign releases poll showing him ahead by 8 points

Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) campaign released a poll that showed him to have an 8-point lead over his Republican competitor, according to the Global Strategy Group.

Results showed Manchin would take 50 percent of the vote to Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's 42 percent if the election were held today.

Manchin's longtime pollsters called 600 registered voters in the state between May 13-16. The margin of error is 4 percent.

More than half, 51 percent, have a favorable view of the senator, but 44 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him.

Are there other recent polls?

Another poll released by WPA Intelligence May 11, just two days after the primary, showed Morrisey ahead by 2 points.

Sixty-two percent of GOP voters said they would vote for Morrisey, according to WPAI's results.

Also, 59 percent of Independents said they would vote for the Republican while 13 percent are undecided.

Similarly, more than 60 percent of Republican and Independent voters polled said they believe it's time to replace Manchin.

Fifty-five percent of Democrats polled said they would vote for Manchin, while 35 percent said they want a new person as the senator.

On May 10, WPAI surveyed 400 voters with a 4.9 percent margin of error.

Anything else?

Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University Center for Politics, and The Cook Political Report all call the West Virginia race a toss-up.

Which party has more voters?

Democratic voters outnumber Republican voters, 525,000 to 393,000, according to West Virginia Metro News. However, Republicans have easily carried the state on the presidential ballot in recent years.

What about failed GOP candidate Don Blankenship?

The former coal baron seems determined to appear on the November ballot.

Blankenship accepted a third-party nomination earlier this week after he failed to win the GOP primary, but West Virginia has a sour grapes law that would prevent Blankenship from becoming a nominee.

If he appears on the ballot, he could play spoiler and keep the GOP from flipping the West Virginia seat from blue to red.

What does all this mean?

At this point, it's still too early to make predictions about the race, but TheBlaze will keep you up to date about the issues and news surrounding the candidates.