W.Va. Gets a Smidgen Bluer. Sort Of.

Gallup Poll Daily interviewed 1,230 West Virginians and found that 53 percent identified themselves as Democrats or as independents who lean toward that party, while 33 percent identified themselves as Republican or GOP-leaning.

That 20 percent gap is 1 percent wider than the one measured by Gallup in 2008, though it noted then that the Republicans had just won West Virginia's electoral votes for the third consecutive time.

The latest findings, part of a nationwide survey of political leanings conducted during the first six months of 2009, are also contrasted by the state's voter registration figures (from the 2008 general election). Those show nearly 56 percent of voters registered as Democrats, while 29 percent were Republican.

As for Gallup's national findings, "only four states show a sizeable Republican advantage in party identification, the same number as in 2008. That compares to 29 states plus the District of Columbia with sizeable Democratic advantages, also unchanged from last year."