Georgia poll shows Abrams, Kemp tied and Warnock leading in Senate race

In the highly watched Georgia gubernatorial race, incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R) finds himself tied with Democrat Stacey Abrams, a new Quinnipiac University poll finds.

With both candidates pulling in 48 percent of voters’ support, Abrams gained a point and Kemp lost one since the last Quinnipiac poll in January.

Abrams polls especially well with Black voters (83 percent to Kemp’s 13) but Kemp leads with white voters (68 percent to 29 for Abrams) and those 50 and older. 

That follows 2018 election results, when Abrams easily captured the majority of Black voters’ ballots in areas such as Savannah, Atlanta and Augusta, but still narrowly lost Kemp, then the secretary of state.

Abrams never fully conceded that election, claiming unfair election management kept predominantly low-income voters and people of color from casting their ballots. 

This year’s election has also been highly contentious, with Kemp’s team pointing to gaffes Abrams has made and claiming her presidential ambitions make her an unsuitable candidate.

Abrams’ team has been working to register even more voters and maintain the state’s blue wave from the 2020 presidential election, when Georgia voted for Joe Biden for president and elected two Democratic senators.

In this year’s Senate race, incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) has a 10 point lead over Republican candidate and former football star Herschel Walker. In January, Walker led Warnock 49 percent to 48. 

Warnock’s new 54-44 lead comes after Walker confirmed he has two sons and an adult daughter previously unknown to the public.

Walker had repeatedly used his platform to speak against absentee fathers and the importance of remaining part of a child’s life, regardless of the parents’ relationship status. Now, 43 percent of voters believe Walker to be dishonest and 42 percent have an unfavorable view of him.

Georgia voters identified the most urgent issue facing their state as inflation, gun violence, abortion and election laws. Most Republican voters identified inflation as their top concern, while Democrats pointed to gun violence and racial inequality, though inflation remained a concern as well. 

“Despite the public’s sorrow and outrage over guns and abortion, inflation, a phenomenon that can affect virtually every Georgian, is most concerning,” said Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University polling analyst.