Republican Patrick Morrisey's allies at 35th PAC is out with a survey from Harper Polling that gives Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin a 47-41 lead in the West Virginia Senate race. The last poll we saw was a mid-July survey from the GOP firm Trafalgar Group that had Manchin ahead 50-40, and Morrisey himself didn't dispute that he was trailing to Politico a few weeks ago.

So, why would Morrisey's allies release a poll that showed him losing a competitive race? That Politico story from early this month reported that some Republicans said that they were concerned that if things still didn't look better for Morrisey before Labor Day after the anti-Manchin August ad barrage, they were concerned that super PACs and donors would turn their attention to other races. Well, it's almost Labor Day, and this poll very much indicates that Manchin is still standing despite the GOP's efforts to knock him down, and that Morrisey hasn't righted his own ship.

The poll seems to be 35th PAC’s way to try and frame the numbers their way to argue that Morrisey actually has indeed met his pre-Labor Day deadline to turn things around and keep this race on the GOP's target list. The memo states that it's Morrisey who has room to grow because many Republicans and voters who would prefer a generic Republican to a generic Democrat haven't made up their minds, and that things will only tighten. We’ll find out soon if well-funded GOP groups are convinced.