Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) has opened up a 6-point lead over his Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the state’s Senate race while Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and his Democratic rival Stacey Abrams are deadlocked in the race for Georgia governor, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
Kemp, who beat Abrams narrowly in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial election, has the support of 50 percent of likely voters. But Abrams isn’t far behind, with 48 percent saying they back her in the race — still within the poll’s 2.7 percentage point margin of error.
Warnock, meanwhile, appears to be on solid ground in his match-up against Walker, the ex-NFL player endorsed by former President Trump.
Fifty-two percent of likely Georgia voters say they plan to support Warnock’s reelection compared to 46 percent who say they’re ready to boot him out of the Senate in favor of Walker.
Driving Warnock’s support are his strong favorability numbers. Fifty percent of likely voters say they have a favorable opinion of the incumbent Democrat, while 40 percent say the same about Walker, the Quinnipiac poll found.
In both Georgia races, voters overwhelmingly said their minds are already made up. Ninety-four percent of respondents who are supporting a candidate in the race for governor say they have already decided whom they will vote for in November. When it comes to the Senate contest, 96 percent of voters said the same.
While Election Day is still nearly two months away, the poll offers the latest evidence that Georgia voters may be poised to reelect their incumbents in November, despite former President Trump’s best efforts to boost his own candidates.
Kemp survived a primary challenge earlier this year from former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), who had Trump’s support. Likewise, Walker won Trump’s endorsement early on in his Senate campaign and faced little serious competition for the Republican nomination.
Walker, meanwhile, has sought to tie Warnock to President Biden, whose approval rating in Georgia remains underwater. The Quinnipiac poll found that 44 percent of likely voters approve of the president’s job performance, while 53 percent disapprove.
But the poll also found that Biden may not weigh much on the Senate race in Georgia. Fifty percent of respondents say the president will not be a factor in how they vote, while 19 percent say that their vote will be, in part, to show support for him. Another 29 percent say that one reason for their vote will be to express opposition to Biden.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,278 likely Georgia voters from Sept. 8-12. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.