Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) holds a 25-point lead over former state Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard (R), according to a new internal poll being circulated by Rahall’s campaign to the inside-the-beltway donor community on Saturday.

The survey is the second poll that Democrats have circulated in the past week that shows Rahall in a strong position despite a national political environment tilted in favor of Republicans.

Rahall led Maynard 59 percent to 34 percent, according to an Anzalone Liszt Research survey that was in the field Sept. 27-29. The poll of 400 likely voters had a 4.5-point margin of error.

In their polling memo, Jeff Liszt and Zac McCrary note that the strong Democratic nature of the 3rd district has helped limit Maynard’s ability to benefit from the national political trend that has favored Republicans elsewhere. They note that 59 percent of voters in the district identify themselves as Democrats in the district, while 29 percent self-identify as Republicans and 12 percent say they are Independents.

The new poll comes less than a week after a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee survey showed the Congressman ahead 55 percent to 37 percent.
That survey of 411 likely voters was conducted Sept. 23-26 and had a 4.8-point margin of error.

Over the summer, Maynard released a poll that showed the race within single digits. Democrats appear to be trying to make the case this week that the 3rd district is out of reach for Republicans with a month to go before Election Day.