Abrams and Kemp are virtually tied in Georgia governor’s race, poll finds
WASHINGTON – Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp are virtually tied in the Georgia governor’s race, according to a poll released Friday.
The Channel 2 Action News/Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found that 46.9 percent of the respondents said they support Abrams, compared with 46.7 percent who said they support Kemp. Meanwhile, 1.6 percent said they support Libertarian candidate Ted Metz and 4.8 percent said they are not sure whom they support.
Female voters said they prefer Abrams 53.4 percent to 38.9 percent, while male voters said they prefer Kemp 54.5 percent to 40.5 percent.
The sampling included 1,091 likely voters and was carried out Oct. 21-30. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The presence of a virtual tie increases the likelihood that a runoff election will be held in December. Georgia law requires a runoff if neither candidate meets the 50 percent vote threshold.
Last week an NBC News/Marist poll showed Kemp leading Abrams by 2 percentage points.
Abrams, 44, served as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011-17. If elected, Abrams would become the first African-American female governor in the nation.
Kemp, 55, has served as Georgia’s secretary of state since 2010. He is a staunch conservative.
The final days of the campaign have seen high-profile public figures stumping for both candidates throughout the state.
On Thursday Vice President Mike Pence held a rally for Kemp in Dalton and media mogul Oprah Winfrey held a rally for Abrams in Marietta.
Pence attempted to downplay the significance of Winfrey’s celebrity status, telling the crowd: “I’m kind of a big deal too.”
Winfrey delivered an impassioned speech explaining her decision to campaign for Abrams.
“I’m here today because of the men and because of the women who were lynched, who were humiliated, who were discriminated against, who were suppressed, who were repressed and oppressed … I refuse to let their sacrifices be in vain,” she said.
Winfrey shot down reports that she is planning to run for president.
“I don’t want to run, OK? I’m not trying to test any waters,” she said.
Georgia is reliably Republican. The state has not elected a Democrat governor since 1998. President Donald Trump carried Georgia by more than five points in 2016.
However, migration and immigration have slowly begun to weaken the Republican stronghold on Georgia politics.
The Atlanta metropolitan area is diverse and makes up about half of Georgia’s population. Republican strength lies primarily in rural areas of the state.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.