Kemp widens lead over Abrams to 8 points in Georgia governor race: poll
FILE - This combination of 2022 and 2021 file photos shows Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, left, and gubernatorial Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams. Abrams is launching an intensive effort to get out the vote by urging potential supporters to cast in-person ballots the first week of early voting as she tries to navigate the state’s new election laws. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has expanded his lead over his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams, to 8 percentage points in the Peach State’s gubernatorial race, according to a new poll.
Half of likely Georgia voters in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released on Tuesday said they would support Kemp, while 42 percent said they backed Abrams.
In late July, Kemp led Abrams by 5 points, 48 percent to 43 percent.
The new survey differed substantially from a Quinnipiac University poll last Wednesday that showed the two competitors locked in a tight race, with Kemp holding a slim 2-point lead over Abrams. Kemp beat Abrams in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race by less than 2 points.
The Atlanta-based newspaper’s poll found a bleaker outlook overall for Democrats in Georgia. While the state’s U.S. Senate race remained close, the survey showed Republican candidates leading Democrats across the board in down-ballot races for lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state.
Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker narrowly led Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, 46 percent to 44 percent, among likely voters — within the poll’s margin of error. However, last week’s Quinnipiac poll had Warnock leading Walker by 6 points.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of 861 likely general election voters in the state was conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Policy and International Affairs Sept. 5-16 and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.