Kemp widens lead over Abrams to 8 points in Georgia governor race: poll

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has expanded his lead over his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams, to 8 percentage points in the Peach State’s gubernatorial race, according to a new poll.

Half of likely Georgia voters in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released on Tuesday said they would support Kemp, while 42 percent said they backed Abrams.

In late July, Kemp led Abrams by 5 points, 48 percent to 43 percent.

The new survey differed substantially from a Quinnipiac University poll last Wednesday that showed the two competitors locked in a tight race, with Kemp holding a slim 2-point lead over Abrams. Kemp beat Abrams in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race by less than 2 points.

The Atlanta-based newspaper’s poll found a bleaker outlook overall for Democrats in Georgia. While the state’s U.S. Senate race remained close, the survey showed Republican candidates leading Democrats across the board in down-ballot races for lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker narrowly led Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, 46 percent to 44 percent, among likely voters — within the poll’s margin of error. However, last week’s Quinnipiac poll had Warnock leading Walker by 6 points.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of 861 likely general election voters in the state was conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Policy and International Affairs Sept. 5-16 and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.