Internal Collins poll suggests he holds huge lead over incumbent Sen. Loeffler in Georgia special election

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) holds a significant lead over Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) in the race for her Senate seat, a new poll found.

A Battleground Connect survey, which was conducted internally for the Collins campaign and first reported by Politico, revealed that 36 percent of likely voters support Collins, who has represented the 9th District in Georgia since 2013, for the Senate seat currently held by Loeffler, who was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) following the resignation of former Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) late last year over health issues. 

Loeffler, with 13 percent support in the poll, currently trails both Collins and a Democratic opponent, pastor Raphael Warnock of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, who registered support from 16 percent of voters.

Matt Lieberman, a Democrat and the son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), came in fourth place in the poll, sitting at 11 percent. No other candidate registered double-digit support in the survey.

Loeffler has faced sharp criticism in the media and from Collins over stock trades she made amid the coronavirus outbreak, including shares in retail outlets and travel companies, in the days before major restrictions were placed on many businesses across the U.S. She has denied any wrongdoing.

The Battleground Connect survey contacted 1,035 likely voters between March 31 and April 1. The poll has a margin of error of 3.01 percentage points.

The Georgia election, due to be held on Nov. 3 alongside the presidential and other national and state elections, will determine who will hold the seat for the remainder of Isakson’s term, which will end in 2022.