FOX 5 Poll: Raphael Warnock leads Herschel Walker after abortion allegations
New poll shows support for Herschel Walker has decreased
Insider Advantage was in the middle of polling Georgia voters when a Daily Beast story claiming Walker urged and paid for a former girlfriend to get an abortion surfaced. They started over Tuesday night and found the article had moved the needle.
ATLANTA - A new InsiderAdvantage/FOX 5 poll shows Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock leading Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the race for U.S. Senate in Georgia after a new report of abortion allegations against Walker.
The poll of 550 likely voters in Georgia was conducted on Tuesday night and shows Warnock at 47%, Walker at 44%, Libertarian Chase Oliver at 3%, and others at 1% with 5% of the people polled undecided.
The poll has a margin of error of 4.2%.
The survey also shows Republican incumbent Brian Kemp maintaining his lead over Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams for governor.
The poll has Kemp at 50%, Abrams at 45%, Libertarian Shane Hazel at 2%, and 3% either undecided or have no opinion.
InsiderAdvantage conducted the poll Tuesday night after Monday’s report by The Daily Beast that Walker, who has stated he opposes all abortions, paid for a former girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009.
Republican Senate candidate for Georgia, Herschel Walker speaks to media at a campaign event on September 9, 2022 in Gwinnett, Georgia. Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker is running against incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock for November
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Walker, the former Heisman trophy winner from the University of Georgia and former NFL Pro Bowl running back, has denied the report and stated he will sue The Daily Beast over the report.
The poll also came after Walker's son, Christian Walker, blasted his father in a series of posts on Twitter on Monday and Tuesday.
"We were polling this race before news broke of allegations against Herschel Walker and the social media posts by his son. We scrapped that poll and surveyed last evening after newspapers, television news, and social media bombarded voters with the various stories," InsiderAdvantage founder Matt Towery told FOX 5. "In our Oct. 3 poll, and prior to these news events, Walker trailed Warnock by one point. The good news for Warnock is that following these newest events, he leads by three points. The good news for Walker is that the difference between the two polls is well within the survey’s margin of error."
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Towery said the results prior to the abortion allegations showed Sen. Warnock with 47% and Walker with 46%. Based on the polling, Towery believes the Senate race is heading to a runoff.
"Warnock was at 47% in our September survey of this contest and despite the latest controversy around Walker, remains at the same percentage. Walker has dropped since our September survey, which is not surprising," Towery said. "However, the votes shift around but do not seem to push the incumbent near the fifty percent plus one vote number needed to win. Walker continues to take endless hits to his personal reputation in paid media and press reports, but Warnock has gone relatively unscathed by the Walker campaign and media regarding his personal reputation. If Warnock escapes a runoff, that will likely be the one determining factor in the contest."
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 27: U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) talks to members of the press as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a cloture vote September 27, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Senate passed a cloture vote of a continuing resolution to fu
Warnock and Walker are scheduled to face each other in a debate in Savannah on Friday, October 14, that will be broadcast on Nexstar stations in Savannah, Columbus and Augusta as well as FOX 5 Atlanta.
Towery also commented on the race for governor, where Kemp maintains a lead over Abrams.
"The race for governor of Georgia has tightened just slightly, but not beyond the margin of error. Brian Kemp would likely win the contest without a runoff if the election were held today," Towery said. "The undecided percent is extremely low in this contest."
Early voting will soon begin in Georgia, prior to the general election on Tuesday, November 8.