Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler has gained a foothold in her Nov. 3 special election to return to Congress, according to a new poll.
Loeffler pulls 26% of the vote compared to chief rival GOP Rep. Doug Collins’s 20% in the 21-candidate, all-party contest to represent Georgia in the Senate for the two years remaining of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term, Monmouth University found in a survey released Wednesday.
The Republicans are trailed by Democrats Matt Lieberman with 14%, Raphael Warnock with 9%, and Ed Tarver with 5%. Another 18% of respondents polled by Monmouth University are undecided.
“Republicans were unsuccessful in working out a deal between their top contenders, but Democrats seem to face an even messier prospect despite Warnock’s establishment support,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said of Warnock’s endorsement from Senate Democrats’s campaign arm.
He added, “The upshot is that this seat will remain in GOP hands unless Democratic support shifts toward one candidate. Of course, this is the most volatile statewide race, so it has the most room for movement.”
If no contender attracts the backing of half the electorate, the top two finishers will face off in a Jan. 5 runoff contest.
Loeffler, appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to replace Isakson in January, has struggled with traction.
The momentum she was expected to have as the incumbent bolstered by Republican heavyweights, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, dissipated while the wealthy Atlanta-based businesswoman was being investigated by the Justice Department for potential insider trading after receiving a closed-door coronavirus briefing. The investigation has since been closed.
Wednesday’s Monmouth University study also puts President Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a dead heat at the top of the ticket with 47% each. Another 3% don’t know for whom they’ll cast a ballot.
“There is a lot of parity between the two candidates. Trump has a lock on his base, but Biden is performing much better than Clinton did in key swing areas,” Murray said, referring to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
In Georgia’s regularly scheduled Senate election between Republican Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff, the sitting senator remains in front 49% to 43%. Another 7% are undecided.
Monmouth University researchers interviewed 402 registered voters in Georgia over the telephone from July 23-27. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus of 4.9 points.
