Trump, Biden running neck-and-neck in Georgia: poll

A new poll finds President Trump leading Joe Biden by 1 point in Georgia, which hasn’t gone for the Democratic nominee since 1992.

The latest Monmouth University survey finds Trump at 47 percent and Biden at 46 percent among all registered voters in the Peach State. 

Forty-two percent say they’re certain they’ll vote for Trump, compared to 44 percent who say there’s no way they’ll vote for him. Forty percent say they’re certain to vote for Biden, with 46 percent saying there is no chance they’ll vote for him.

When a high-turnout model is considered, Trump leads 48 percent to 46 percent. In a low-turnout scenario, Trump’s lead grows, with the president garnering 50 percent support compared to Biden’s 45 percent. 

Biden has a 20-point advantage among registered voters in the 14 swing counties where the margins between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton were closest in 2016. 

Trump has swung to a lead among seniors in the state, opening up a 25-point lead over Biden after the two were effectively tied in July. Biden, meanwhile, has opened up a 9-point lead over Trump among voters aged 50 to 64 after the candidates were tied in the last poll. 

“There seems to be a tension between shoring up the base and courting swing voters in Georgia,” said Monmouth Polling Director Patrick Murray. “A loss in one demographic group appears to be offset by a gain in another.”

Trump is viewed favorably by 45 percent of Georgia voters, compared to 46 percent who view him negatively. Biden posts a 43 percent-45 percent favorable-unfavorable split. 

About half of voters say Trump has done a good job of handling the coronavirus and just over half say they believe the president will have the U.S. in position to recover from the pandemic. Fifty percent say Biden would also handle the U.S. recovery well. 

Georgia also has two competitive Senate races. 

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) leads Democrat Jon Ossoff 48 percent to 42 percent.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is in a tight jungle primary that finds her with 23 percent support, followed by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) at 22 percent, Democrat Raphael Warnock at 21 percent, Democrat Matt Lieberman at 11 percent and Democrat Ed Tarver at 4 percent. 

Unless one candidate gets 50 percent support in November, the top two candidates will move to a runoff in January. 

“Back in the summer, it looked like this seat might be a Republican lock, but Warnock has started to consolidate Democratic voter support,” said Murray. “We could see a two-party contest in January after all.”