Georgia Poll: Kemp Holds 25-Point Lead over Perdue, Slim Lead over Abrams

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is leading his top primary challenger, former Sen. David Perdue, by a margin of 25 points, according to a poll released Thursday.

The poll, taken by SurveyUSA and commissioned by local outlet 11 Alive, found Kemp with 56-percent support compared to Perdue’s 31 percent. Three other candidates polled in the low single-digits, and eight percent of respondents said they were undecided.

When stacked up against Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Kemp bested Abrams by five points, 50 percent to 45 percent. Perdue led Abrams by three points, 49 percent to 46 percent.

The poll was conducted from April 22 to 27, about a week before early voting for the May 24 primary is set to begin.

The poll was also taken in the midst of the two candidates kicking off a string of debates that have so far focused largely on Georgia’s 2020 election process, the central issue in Perdue’s campaign.

Former President Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter of Perdue from the immediate outset of Perdue launching his campaign. The former president has backed seven candidates total in Georgia’s primary as he aims to unseat Kemp and Kemp’s allies over his grievances with their management of the 2020 election. The poll tested the primary races of some of those candidates and found they had mixed outcomes.

Trump-endorsed Rep. Jody Hice, who is hoping to unseat Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, is polling 11 points behind Raffensperger, 20 percent to 31 percent. However, a plurality of respondents, 40 percent, said they were undecided on a candidate in that race.

In the race for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Burt Jones, whom Trump is backing, is polling neck and neck with Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller. Miller received 15 percent, Jones had 14 percent, and a whopping 59 percent of respondents said they were undecided.

Former football star Herschel Walker, who also has Trump’s support, is polling miles ahead of his competitors in the primary for U.S. Senate, but Walker is down five points, 45 percent to 50 percent, when tested against Democrat incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock. Five percent said they were undecided on the general election.

Many primary voters could be casting their ballots as early as three days from now, on May 2.

The poll provided a gauge of how Republican-affiliated likely primary voters are planning to vote, and 46 percent said they will vote in person on election day, 43 percent said they will vote in person before election day, and eight percent said they will vote by absentee ballot. Two percent said they were not sure.

A majority of that same group, 66 percent, said they had full (28 percent) or some (38 percent) confidence in the accuracy of the election results. Twenty-two percent said they had little confidence, and nine percent said they have no confidence. Three percent said they were not sure.

The poll was conducted online among 2,000 Georgia adults, 559 of whom were likely Republican primary voters.