Trump, Harris tied head-to-head in Georgia: Poll

Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are tied in a new survey of Georgia voters, as Harris strengthens her position in the campaign and puts the Peach State back in play.

The AARP poll published Thursday found that both Trump and Harris received 48 percent support when placed head-to-head. With third-party candidates included, Trump takes a 2-point lead, 46-44 percent, with Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. taking 7 percent support and 3 percent undecided.

Trump’s support remains strongest among voters older than 50, where he leads by 8 points. Among voters under 50, Harris leads Trump by the same margin.

The vice president also leads among independent voters by 4 points, according to the survey.

Both Trump and Harris have a net -1 favorability rating among Georgia voters, the poll found, with Trump’s favorability at 47 percent to 48 percent and Harris’s at 46 percent to 47 percent. 

Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), has a net favorability of zero, with more than a quarter of respondents not having an opinion of him. The poll was taken before Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was announced as Harris’s running mate.

President Biden fared the worst in favorability among respondents, with just 39 percent holding a favorable opinion and 56 percent holding an unfavorable view. 

Previous polls between Trump and Biden found Trump with a significant lead over the president. Enthusiasm for Harris’s campaign since she entered the race has nearly eliminated Trump’s lead in national polling. 

She leads Trump by a slim 0.1 point according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of national polls, the first time the Democratic candidate has led since before the primaries.

Cook Political Report shifted Georgia from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up” on Thursday, signaling that Harris is in a better position in the state than President Biden.

“For the first time in a long time, Democrats are united and energized, while Republicans are on their heels. Unforced errors from both Trump and his vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance have shifted the media spotlight from Biden’s age to Trump’s liabilities,” Cook Editor-in-Chief Amy Walter wrote in a post explaining the decision. 

“In other words, the presidential contest has moved from one that was Trump’s to lose to a much more competitive contest,” she continued.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball similarly moved Georgia to “Toss Up” on Wednesday.

The AARP poll also found that voters are highly motivated, with 79 percent of respondents saying they are very motivated to vote, listing themselves as a 10 out of 10. That includes 88 percent of voters older than 50 years old and 70 percent of voters under 50.

Younger voters were least likely to be motivated, with 60 percent of respondents in the 18-34 group saying they are very motivated.

Republicans have a 10-point edge in motivated voters over Democrats, the poll found.

The AARP poll surveyed about 1,400 likely voters July 24-31, with a margin of error of 4 points for the overall sample and 3.5 points among voters older than 50.