The 2014 Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Georgia remains effectively tied up among the five top candidates, according to a new poll. Businessman David Perdue, a first-time candidate and cousin of former governor Sonny Perdue, has the lead with 12.7 percent, the Daily Caller reports.
Four other candidates running for the Senate–former secretary of state Karen Handel and congressmen Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, and Jack Kingston–are not far behind and all bunched together. Broun and Kingston each get 10.9 percent, while Gingrey gets 10.4 percent and Handel 10.2 percent. According to the poll, available here, 42.9 percent of primary voters are undecided.
Perdue, who started the race with the least name recognition, has been on air in Georgia with the first TV ad of the cycle, in which he compares his Republican rivals to babies.
THE WEEKLY STANDARD recently talked to all five Republican candidates, who are seeking to replace retiring Republican Saxby Chambliss. Here’s an excerpt:
“This is a very unique race,” says Eric Tanenblatt, a Georgia GOP veteran and onetime chief of staff to Sonny Perdue, the former governor. The uncertainty of the primary is beginning to worry some Republicans. If the party fails to coalesce around a winning candidate, Michelle Nunn, the moderate Democrat and daughter of former senator Sam Nunn, could pull off an upset. Losing Georgia would put Republicans further away from winning the Senate in a year when many incumbent Democrats are in trouble.
