InsiderAdvantage Poll: Kemp leads Perdue in GOP governor’s race, Walker surges in U.S. senate race

ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp enjoys a nine-point lead against former Sen. David Perdue in the race for the GOP nomination for governor in the latest FOX 5 Atlanta/InsiderAdvantage survey.

In the statewide poll of 750 likely Republican primary voters, Kemp polled at 44% with Perdue at 35%.

The poll showed educator Kandiss Taylor at 3%, other candidates at 2% and 15% of the people surveyed undecided.

InsiderAdvantage Chairman Matt Towery called Perdue’s campaign to unseat the incumbent Governor "anemic" so far with a small amount of paid advertising.

"Kemp hit Perdue hard with early negative ads and has enjoyed continuous media coverage during the legislative session. As we have learned in recent campaigns, elections are now won based on advertising and other efforts made several months before Election Day," Towery said,  "This is due to the popularity of early voting."

But Towery sees one bit of good news for the former U.S. senator.

Towery said, "Kemp, as an incumbent governor, continues to remain under fifty percent in the polls. Usually that signals a potential upset for the incumbent. But Kemp has millions of dollars to potentially build on that number and Perdue is running out of time. Additionally, no significant negative ads have been run against Kemp, allowing the governor to be in position to grab the extra six points needed to defeat Perdue in May."

The race for Governor has major national implication with former President Donald Trump encouraging Perdue to enter the race and publicly endorsing him over Kemp who he endorsed in 2018.

Towery said, "Trump has focused much of his ire on alleged voting improprieties in the state. Previous surveys showed that the vast majority of Republicans in Georgia agreed with Trump on that issue. But the public’s political memory is short-lived, and Perdue’s campaign has not engaged in any ads highlighting the mater. The Trump endorsement ad for Perdue had relatively light media buys and there is no indication that the former president’s PAC will spend substantial money on the race."

The race for Georgia will once again draw national attention, with the Republican nominee facing Democrat Stacey Abrams in November.

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Kemp defeated Abrams in the November 2018 general election.

The former Georgia House Minority Leader and current recently went on the record to responded to whether she thought the 2022 election would be a fair one after she first refused to concede the 2018 race, accusing her opponent of voter suppression tactics.

Back on the GOP side, Towery believes Perdue must change his tactics quickly to change the numbers.

Towery writes, "Absent a major effort by Trump and an infusion of cash to and immediate media buys by the Perdue campaign, Trump’s endorsement power could be tarnished, fairly or unfairly, and national media would seize upon the results to blame Trump, not Perdue, for the loss. This makes the race the marquee political contest of the nation’s 2022 primary season."

Towery added, "To be clear, Perdue still has time to narrow the gap and could still potentially defeat Kemp or, more likely, shoot for a runoff. Second place finishers uniquely tend to win runoff contests in Georgia. But with the elimination of Vernon Jones from the ballot, the runoff scenario diminished a bit."

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InsiderAdvantage has continuously polled Georgia for Atlanta network television affiliates longer than any other organization in the state’s history and is in its tenth year of polling for Atlanta’s FOX5 and other FOX affiliates across the nation.

The survey of 750 likely Republican primary voters conducted February 28 to March 1 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%.

Poll results are listed below in alphabetical order:

If the election were held today to decide who will be the Republican nominee for governor, for whom would you vote?

• Catherine Davis: 1%
• Brian Kemp, Incumbent% 44%
• David Perdue: 35%
• Kandiss Taylor: 3%
• Other: 2%
• Undecided/No Opinion: 15

Who leads in the polls in the GOP race for US Senate in Georgia?

Meanwhile, Herschel Walker has a commanding lead in the polls in the race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

In the latest FOX 5 Atlanta/InsiderAdvantage survey, 62% of the likely Republicans polled said they would vote for Walker.

Raphael Warnock and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority — in January 2021.

The GOP nominee would challenge Warnock for the U.S. Senate seat in the general election in November.

Similar to the governor's poll, 750 likely Republican primary voters were surveyed from February 28 to March 1. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%.

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Similar to the governor's poll, 750 likely Republican primary voters were surveyed from February 28 to March 1. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%.

Poll results are listed below in alphabetical order:

If the election were held today to decide who will be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, for whom would you vote?

• Gary Black: 5%
• Josh Clark: 3%
• Kelvin King: 3%
• Latham Saddler: 2%
• Herschel Walker: 62%
• Other: 2%
• Undecided/No Opinion: 19%

In the race for the GOP nomination for Lt. Governor, State Senator Burt Jones leads with 32% against fellow State Senator Butch Miller with 14%, but 51% of the people surveyed were either undecided or had no opinion.

The General Primary Election is scheduled for May 24.

General Primary Election Runoff for Federal Races will take place on June 21.

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