New FOX 5 poll: Virtual dead heat in Atlanta mayor's race

ATLANTA - A new poll conducted for FOX 5 Atlanta shows a virtual dead heat in the Atlanta mayor’s runoff between City Council members Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood.

The poll of 500 registered Atlanta voters conducted by Opinion Savvy shows Lance Bottoms with a slight edge at 41.5 percent followed by Norwood at 38.7 percent.

But nearly 20 percent of the surveyed voters said they are undecided, only a week before the Dec. 5 runoff.

Opinion Savvy Managing Partner Matthew Towery Jr. said the tight race is well within the margin of error, and there’s no clear leader.

“The undecided factor is enormous for an election just one week away, and there were significant differences between candidate support between the two nights of polling," Towery said. "Bottoms performed well on Sunday; Norwood performed relatively better on Monday.”

Opinion Savvy conducted the poll which has a margin of error of 4.4 percent on Sunday and Monday.

“The only identifiable trends are party ID and race, with Norwood performing better among Republicans, independents, and white voters,” Towery added.

The poll comes as both candidates have picked up big-name endorsements this week.

Lance Bottoms, who has been supported for months by outgoing Mayor Kasim Reed, received the endorsement Monday of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife.

Norwood received endorsements Monday from former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and former candidate Peter Aman who finished fourth in the general election.

Bottoms and Norwood hope to succeed Reed who is finishing his second term in office.

In the Nov. 7 general election, Lance Bottoms led the field of 11 candidates with 26 percent of the vote, followed by Norwood with 21 percent. Former City Council President Cathy Woolard finished third with 17 percent.