Politics & Government
Dead Heat: Abrams, Kemp Tied In GA Governor Poll
With two months to go until election day in Georgia, the Democrat and Republican running for governor are neck-and-neck in a new poll.
ATLANTA, GA — With the intense, post-Labor Day push to Election Day in Georgia in full swing, a new poll shows Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp in dead heat in the governor's race.
Two months out, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Channel 2 Action News poll shows Kemp, Georgia's Secretary of State, with the support of 45.3 percent of respondents and Abrams, the state House of Representatives' former Democratic leader, with 44.9 percent.
About 2 percent of respondents said they support Libertarian Ted Metz and only 7.6 percent said they were undecided.
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The poll of 1,020 likely voters was conducted Aug. 2-Sept. 4 Its margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
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In the poll, 40 percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Kemp and 42.9 percent said they similarly had positive feelings about Abrams.
In the Republican primary, Kemp got a huge boost over his rival, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, when President Donald Trump tweeted an endorsement for him. But the new poll suggests Trump's support may not be a boon in a general election.
In it, 51.1 percent said they disapprove of how Trump is handling the presidency, while 42.2 percent said they disapprove and 6.7 percent said they don't know or refused to answer.
In a state where Democrats have not won the governorship since 2002, the poll reflects encouraging enthusiasm for Abrams' candidacy. Abrams, who would become the first black woman elected governor in the United States, has campaigned hard in an effort to turn out people who have not traditionally voted at the polls.
Kemp, meanwhile, has touted his conservative credentials, hoping that's enough to turn back the tide of an electorate that, particularly in metro Atlanta, has grown more diverse and less staunchly conservative in recent years.
Photos courtesy Stacey Abrams, Brian Kemp campaigns
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