A Democratic polling firm has a new survey that validates fears from a growing number of Republicans: Joe Biden could win Georgia.
The poll, conducted by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, found that voters in the state currently back Biden over Trump by 4 points, at 47% to 43%.
“Both candidates win overwhelmingly among their respective parties, with Biden’s overall advantage coming from his fifteen-point advantage among Independents,” the pollsters wrote in their Wednesday report. Ten percent of Georgians remain undecided.
The group interviewed 800 likely voters, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Georgia’s Senate race between incumbent Republican David Perdue and challenger Jon Ossoff is much tighter, with Ossoff leading by just 1 point, at 45% to 44%.
“Because Ossoff currently has a name ID deficit with the incumbent, his lead is larger among Georgia voters who know both candidates — an encouraging sign as Ossoff will increase his profile,” the authors noted.
Winning Purdue’s seat is key to Democratic chances of retaking the Senate in November. Ossoff previously unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the 2017 special election for the state’s 6th Congressional District. Despite that loss, the district voted for Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath the following year.
Georgia had long been a GOP stronghold until recently, as demographics in the state have shifted favorably to Democrats. In 2016, Trump won the state by just under 51%, the lowest margin for any Republican since the party started consistently winning the state.
The 2018 gubernatorial election in Georgia served as another reminder of how tenuous GOP chances remain in the state. In that race, Republican Brian Kemp defeated former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams by just under 55,000 votes and 50.2% of the popular vote.
