Options?

This Rasmussen poll of the West Virginia Senate race from last week shows one race where Tea Partiers and the right as a whole might find that a little attention gets big results.

In the first Rasmussen Reports post-primary survey of West Virginia’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic Governor Joe Manchin attracts 48% of the vote while Republican businessman John Raese earns 42%.

How did the race stand a few weeks ago? 51 Manchin/ 35 Raese. Raese is gaining on Manchin.

While West Virginia hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate in over 50 years, it is a state that has begun to move toward the Republicans. Even though Manchin is trying to portray himself as a moderate or even conservative Democrat, Republicans could successfully tie him to the national Democratic party (including his backing of Obamacare).

In short, this race could be an uphill battle, but it is definitely winnable for the GOP. Raese is very wealthy, so he might not need that much help in fund-raising, but I bet he could make use of more supporters on the ground and online. After all, West Virginia could be a place where the GOP could get a Reagan-endorsed Republican in the US Senate (yes, Raese was endorsed by the Gipper when he ran for the Senate in 1984).