Donald Trump is neck-and-neck with President Joe Biden in a hypothetical matchup in Georgia, according to a new poll commissioned by Gov. Brian Kemp’s political network that pointed to the former president’s vulnerabilities in a pivotal battleground state.
The poll released Friday found that a generic Republican had a roughly 10-point edge over Biden in Georgia, but it pegged Trump at 42% and Biden at 41% in a potential head-to-head showdown. That’s within the poll’s margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Georgia voters are overwhelmingly focused on inflation, gun control, public safety and the economy – and less concerned about election-related issues that dominate Trump’s 2024 agenda. Only 7% listed “election integrity” as the top issue in state government.
About 48% of likely Georgia voters say they’re less likely to support a Republican presidential candidate who denied the 2020 election results – a mainstay of Trump’s comeback bid – while only 14% say it would make them more likely to back the contender.
Even so, the results also pointed to Trump’s durable support among core GOP voters. After poll respondents were informed of Trump’s recent praise of North Korea’s “murderous dictator” and his denial of 2020 election results, Trump’s support remained relatively unchanged.
The statewide poll of 600 likely general election voters was conducted by Cygnal between June 5-7. It was conducted by Hardworking Americans, the federal PAC that Kemp established shortly after his reelection bid.
It was conducted before federal prosecutors filed criminal charges that accused Trump of mishandling classified documents after he left office and obstructed efforts to reclaim them. And it comes ahead of Trump’s expected Saturday address to the Georgia GOP convention.
Only about 40% of Georgia voters have a favorable opinion of Biden, compared with 56% who have an unfavorable view of the president. Trump, too, was underwater with a 42% favorable rating compared to a 54% unfavorable view.
Georgia officials fared better. Kemp’s favorable rating was 53%, while 39% had a negative opinion. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff was at 43% favorable and 37% unfavorable, with about 20% undecided or unaware of him.
Cody Hall, the executive director of Kemp’s federal PAC, said the poll reinforces the governor’s plea to Republicans to move beyond Trump’s obsession with his 2020 defeat.
“Winning statewide in the Peach State next year as a Republican means following Gov. Brian Kemp’s blueprint, not looking in the rearview mirror,” Hall said.
“The road to the White House runs through Georgia, but it hits a dead end if Republicans nominate candidates next year who struggle to win general elections.”
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