Kemp leads Abrams in Georgia governor's race as Walker trails Warnock for Senate: Poll
Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and incumbent Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. ( Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is maintaining his lead over Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams as incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., holds a narrow lead over GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker in the state's Senate race, according to a new survey released by AARP.
The poll, which garnered responses from 1,197 likely Georgia voters and was conducted by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research, found Kemp leading Abrams by 7 percentage points in the Peach State's governor's race, with Kemp sitting at 52% support compared to Abrams' 45%.
With both gubernatorial candidates winning at least 95% of their party's voters in the poll, the survey also showed Kemp with a 14-point edge among likely independent voters. Voters age 65 and older who took part in the questionnaire also favored Kemp by 18 percentage points, with 74% of black voters age 50 and up favoring Abrams.
As for candidate imaging, 50% of those surveyed said they hold a favorable view of Kemp, while 46% said the same for Abrams. Among the independents who responded, 50% of likely voters viewed Kemp favorably compared to the 41% who said the same for Abrams.
As for the Georgia Senate race, Walker, the Republican nominee for Senate, trails Warnock by three percentage points. Fifty percent of the poll respondents favored Warnock, while 47% favored Walker. Among likely independent voters, Warnock holds a three-point lead over Walker, garnering 48% support compared to his GOP rival's 45%.
Respondents age 50 and older stated they prefer Walker over Warnock 52% to 46%, with voters 65 and older preferring Walker by eight percentage points. Eighty percent of black voters age 50 or older stated in the survey they prefer Warnock over Walker.
Overall, 41% of respondents said they have a favorable view of Walker compared to 47% who said the same about Warnock.
Just one in three of the likely voters surveyed said the economy is working well for them personally, with most signaling that inflation will be their main voting issue as compared to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade or efforts by the January 6th commission. Only 12% of respondents said they believe the country is headed in the right direction.
The poll also asked respondents to provide their views on former President Donald Trump and President Biden.
Trump won Georgia in 2016, but in the 2020 presidential election, Biden narrowly came out on top, winning by a margin of 0.23% and 11,779 votes.
Of the likely voters who responded to the question regarding approval ratings for each president's job performance, 49% approved of Trump, while only 34% approved of Biden. Among independents, 45% approved of Trump's performance compared to 24% who said the same for Biden.
The AARP poll outlined above was conducted via landline, smartphone or SMS-to-web, and was conducted between July 5 and 11.