West Virginians feel worse about the direction of the state than they have at any time in the last 10 years, a new poll has found.
Only 18 percent of likely voters think West Virginia is headed in the right direction, while 71 percent believe it is not, according to the poll by Orion Strategies, a firm with offices in Charleston and Buckhannon.
Those are the worst numbers that Orion has found on that question in the last 10 years.
The poll asked voters across the state about various issues pending before the state Legislature and issues being discussed nationally.
"I'm not sure it's fair to say we were surprised by some of the numbers," said Curtis Wilkerson, principal of Orion Strategies. "But it's always interesting to find out what voters actually believe aside from the message being trumpeted by loud minorities from different ends of issue spectrums."
Among state issues, 59 percent of respondents support raising the tobacco tax to help fund the Public Employees Insurance Agency.
The state Senate passed a $1 increase in the tobacco tax on Tuesday, but it faces uncertain prospects in the House. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has proposed a smaller, 45-cent tobacco tax increase.
Among respondents who supported the tobacco tax increase, 52 percent said it should be $1 or more, and 34 percent said it should go up by 45 cents.
A large majority - 71 percent - think people should need a permit to carry a concealed gun. The Legislature approved a bill Wednesday to allow concealed guns without any permit or training. That bill now goes to Tomblin, who vetoed a similar measure last year.
A majority of respondents - 54 percent - said the state's Common Core education standards should be replaced with the West Virginia College and Career Readiness Standards.
A much larger majority, 81 percent, said that there should be some uniform concepts and standards taught in each grade in every school. And 77 percent said students should take a test at the end of the year.
Respondents were split on their forecasts for the state's beleaguered coal industry, 43 percent believe it will recover under a new president, while 44 percent believe it will not.
At the same time, a large majority, 82 percent, think the state should pay for education and training for out-of-work coal miners, and 74 percent think those programs should also go to other people out of work.
Respondents were evenly split on whether or not West Virginia should permit the sale of raw milk - 44 percent in favor, and 41 percent against.
A majority of respondents - 55 percent - are against the so-called "brunch bill" which would allow alcohol to be sold beginning at 10 a.m. on Sundays, while 38 percent support the measure.
About three-quarters of respondents - 77 percent - support requiring a photo ID in order to vote. Such a bill passed the House of Delegates last week.
The same number - 77 percent - support mandatory drug testing to help determine eligibility for welfare programs.
Among national issues, West Virginians are siding with President Barack Obama in his standoff with the Senate over the open seat on the Supreme Court. Fifty-two percent of respondents think Obama should appoint a justice, while 45 percent think the next president should. A similar majority - 51 percent thinks the Senate should consider the president's nomination.
Respondents also sided with the president over the Republican Congress on a gun issue - 65 percent think it should be illegal for people on the "no fly list" to buy a gun.
And while Donald Trump leads the Republican primary in recent polling of West Virginia, respondents disapproved of some of his most controversial proposals.
Fifty percent of respondents do not support his plan to register all Muslims in the United States, compared to 38 percent who support it. A slight plurality, 47 percent, oppose Trump's plan to deport all undocumented immigrants, while 43 percent support it.
The poll of 306 likely voters was conducted by telephone on Sunday and Monday, and has a margin of error of 5.6 percent.
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.