New Poll: Brian Kemp, Herschel Walker leading GOP Primary Races
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, left, is running for a second term while former Georgia football star Herschel Walker, right, is vying for a chance to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock. (Getty / FOX 5)
ATLANTA - New polls released Wednesday show Brian Kemp and Herschel Walker leading their races to win the GOP nominations for Georgia Governor and U.S. Senator.
The statewide poll of more than 1,000 likely GOP voters was conducted by the Atlanta-based Trafalgar Group between Friday, February 11 and Sunday, February 13.
Gov. Brian Kemp and former US Senator David Perdue are vying for the Republican nomination for Georgia governor in 2022. (Georgia Office of Governor / US Congress)
Who is leading in the polls in the Georgia Governor's race?
"It clearly is a close race," said Robert Cahaly, Chief Pollster and Founder of The Trafalgar Group.
Asked who they would most likely vote for in the governor’s race, Gov. Kemp pulled 49.1% of the people surveyed, followed by former U.S. Senator David Perdue with 39.5%.
"What stood out was there is still a significant amount of people who are not aware that Trump's made an endorsement in the governor's race and that has a tremendous impact. We find among people who do know Trump made an endorsement that Perdue had a lead, but on the whole, Kemp still has about a 10 point lead," Cahaly said.
Trailing Kemp and Perdue were educator Kandiss Taylor at 3% and Jonathan Garcia at 0.7%.
"I think there's something for each campaign to like about the poll. I mean, the governor can look at it and say, 'Hey, look, I'm, you know, close to 50.' And Perdue could look at it and say, 'Hey, you know, among the people who know that Trump's made an endorsement I'm doing well and there's a significant amount of people who don't know,'" Cahaly said.
Seven-point-seven percent of the people surveyed are undecided.
"You'll also see people who are for lesser-known candidates who early on say that's who they're for and then as they get closer to the election and they're kind of two behemoths, they end up siding with one of them. So, what I expect is that undecided obviously disappears completely on election day and I expect the numbers for the two other candidates to shrink and this thing literally could come down to, you know, a few thousand votes as to whether there is a runoff or isn't on either side," Cahaly said.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 09: Stacey Abrams speaks onstage during the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala on December 09, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights)
The winner of the GOP nomination will likely face former Georgia House Minority Leader and 2018 Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams in the November general election. Kemp defeated Abrams in the November 2018 general election.
Who is leading the polls in the race for US Senate in Georgia?
In the race for the GOP U.S Senate nomination, Walker has a huge lead over the rest of the field.
The former University of Georgia Heisman trophy winner has 69.9% of the people surveyed, with Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black in second at 6.1%.
Among the other candidates, Latham Sadler pulled 2.7% and Kelvin King 2.4%.
Eighteen-point-nine percent of the likely Republican voters surveyed said they were undecided in the Senate race.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, speaks at a rally, hosted by the Declaration for American Democracy coalition, calling on the Senate to pass the For the People Act. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The GOP nominee will face Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who won a runoff in January 2021 to serve the remainder of the term of Senator Johnny Isakson. Isakson died in December following his retirement from the Senate due to health issues.
What do the polls say about Buckhead cityhood?
The poll also included questions about the issue of creating a city of Buckhead out of that Atlanta community.
Among the people surveyed, 47.8% said they strongly approved a bill that would allow Buckhead residents to vote on where to separate from Atlanta and create their own city, with 27.3% approving.
Only 6% disapproved and 1.8% strongly disapproved.
DESPITE STALLED BILLS, BUCKHEAD CITY SUPPORTERS SAY MOVEMENT ISN'T DEAD
The push to split Buckhead from the city of Atlanta was killed in the State Legislature last week when Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan announced the Senate would not take up the Buckhead cityhood issue this session.
The Trafalgar Group poll surveyed 1,072 likely GOP Primary voters and has a margin of error of 2.99%.
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