President Joe Biden is underwater with Georgia voters, according to a new Quinnipiac Poll, but the same voters favor their Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock over his Republican rival Herschel Walker.
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The poll found Georgia voters gave Biden a negative 33%-60% job approval rating. A president’s party historically can struggle in midterm elections, but Biden’s negative approval rating did not appear to bleed over to the Senate race in the poll, where Warnock led Walker 54%-44%.
Walker, a former University of Georgia football star, was backed by both former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in his campaign for the Peach State Senate seat that is a key part of Republicans’ efforts to win a Senate majority.
If Republicans are able to net a single Senate seat in November, a win in Georgia would flip the upper chamber to their control. But Georgia has recently shown signs of becoming more of a swing state: Biden won the Peach State in 2020, the first Democratic nominee to do so since Bill Clinton in 1992. And two Republican senators subsequently lost a January 2021 runoff election as Trump made baseless claims the election was stolen.
Although Walker is an athletic legend in the state for his football career at both the University of Georgia and in the NFL, his personal baggage made McConnell reportedly hesitant to endorse Walker before ultimately doing so. Walker allegedly threatened the lives of two women, including his ex-wife. Walker acknowledges struggling with mental illness and has cast his campaign as a redemption story. But new scandals during his candidacy, including a reveal he fathered multiple children he never previously acknowledged, may have damaged his first impression with voters as a general election candidate.
“Herschel Walker fumbles on honesty and tumbles on favorability as Raphael Warnock surges ahead in the race for senator,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.
The poll also found Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp statistically tied with Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams, each at 48%.
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“With both candidates getting positive numbers on honesty, empathy and leadership, Kemp and Abrams are in a Governor’s race too close to call,” Malloy said.
