GA GOP in drivers seat in top races: Poll
Senate race remains tied
With less than 50 days until election day, Georgia Republicans are entering the final stretch of the campaign with sizable leads in many statewide races, according to a new poll from the University of Georgia — which was shared Tuesday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The survey also found that the race for U.S. Senate remains a pure coin-flip.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is locked in a tight race with Republican nominee Herschel Walker in a race that could determine the balance of power in Washington. Warnock earns 44% to Walker’s 46% — well within the poll’s margin of error.
But the close Senate contest is where the good news ends for Georgia Democrats. Since July, Gov. Brian Kemp has widened his lead over Democrat Stacey Abrams. The Republican incumbent now enjoys 50% support to his rival’s forty-two percent. It’s one of several surveys in recent weeks that show Kemp hovering around the 50% mark, which is what he would need in order to avoid a runoff.
“Like other recent public polls, the AJC poll is the latest to indicate a split-ticket trend in the marquee races. About 9% of Warnock’s supporters are also backing Kemp, while an additional 5% of Kemp supporters are undecided in the Senate contest.”
President Joe Biden’s job approval rating in Georgia continues to leave much to be desired. Despite a string of recent legislative achievements, just thirty-seven percent of Georgians say that they approve of the job that the President has done so far. Nearly 58% give him a thumbs down.
Looking further down the ballot, Republicans have opened double-digit leads in many of the other statewide contests. In the race for Lieutenant Governor, Republican State Sen. Burt Jones is at 43% while his Democratic opponent, former prosecutor Charlie Bailey, is at thirty-three percent.
Republican Attorney General Chris Carr holds a significant lead over State Sen. Jen Jordan (D), with forty-five percent supporting Carr and 35% supporting Jordan.
The most lopsided contest is the Secretary of State race, with GOP incumbent Brad Raffensperger polling at nearly 50% and Democratic State Rep. Bee Nguyen at 31% in the battle to be Georgia’s top election official. Raffensperger is being aided by unusual crossover support: around twenty percent of Democrats say that they plan to vote for the Republican, who drew the ire of former President Donald Trump for refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Republicans were quick to pounce on the survey results Tuesday morning. “This is very encouraging for the GOP,” said conservative radio host Martha Zoller. “Stacey Abrams continues to underperform based on 2018. And the better Kemp does, the better the whole [Republican] ticket does.” Zoller thought it was noteworthy that Walker remains in the margin of error despite facing millions of dollars in negative advertising from Warnock’s Democratic allies in Washington.
Democrats, meanwhile, are saying that there is no consensus in polling right now — a sign that the races are tightening. “I think the ground game is surging at the right time,” State Rep. Erick Allen (D) said of his party’s mobilization efforts. “You will see candidates gravitate towards the numbers they want to believe but what the polls don’t capture is the surging grassroots ground game being deployed by Democrats.”
You can read more about the poll here.
DATES TO REMEMBER
October 11: Deadline to register to vote
October 17: Early in-person voting begins
October 22: First mandatory Saturday voting
October 28: Last day to request absentee ballot
October 29: Second mandatory Saturday voting
November 8: Election Day
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