New Georgia poll shows GOP ahead on almost all fronts

A new poll released Tuesday found Georgia Republicans ahead of their Democratic opponents less than two months before the midterm elections.

The poll, conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the University of Georgia School of Public & International Affairs, found that every Democratic candidate statewide aside from Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) was facing a “sizeable deficit” against their GOP counterparts.

51% of likely voters polled said they want the Republican Party to retake control of Congress, largely down party lines. 96% of Republicans prefer the GOP win back control while 97% of Democrats wanted their party to keep it.

Respondents preferred Republican Gov. Brian Kemp over his Democratic challenger Stacy Abrams by eight points, 50% to 42%. AJC noted this puts Kemp above the majority-vote mark he needs to avoid a runoff.

The Georgia Senate race was one of the few “bright spots” in the poll for Democrats, showing incumbent Warnock at 44% – only two points behind football star Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee, at 46%.

The survey reported the difference between Walker and Warnock is not statistically significant.

“In plain English, the U.S. Senate [race] is a dead heat,” said the report.

 Another poll released Tuesday found Warnock up 47% over Walker’s 42%.

"There are going to be polls in all directions over the course of this campaign," Quentin Fulks, campaign manager for Warnock, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, acknowledging the “race will be close.”

Only 37% of Georgia voters approved of President Joe Biden’s job performance, which AJC noted is statistically unchanged since its last poll in July.

A whopping 70% said they think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The AJC poll found large GOP leads in the down-ballot races for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general as well.

The largest gap was in the contest for secretary of state – Georgia’s top election official – with Republican incumbent Brad Raffensperger up 50% over Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen’s 31%. The report said there was significant crossover from Democrats and independents for Raffesnperger after he defied then-President Donald Trump’s call to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The poll surveyed 861 likely general election voters in Georgia. Their identities and voter registration were verified by a third party.