Internal poll shows Abrams leading Georgia governor’s race by 6 points

Democrat Stacey Abrams is leading Republican opponent Brian Kemp in Georgia’s hotly contested gubernatorial race, according to an internal poll commissioned by her campaign.

The poll, conducted by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, shows Abrams leading the Georgia secretary of state by 48 percent to 42 percent. Seven percent of respondents said they were undecided.

The survey comes weeks after one from Atlanta Journal-Constitution–Channel 2 Action News that showed Abrams and Kemp virtually deadlocked at 45 percent each.

{mosads}Abrams, a former minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, campaigned as an unabashed progressive during her primary earlier this year against Stacey Evans, a more middle-of-the-road Democrat.

She’s facing off against Kemp, a conservative firebrand whose endorsement from President Trump helped him defeat Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in a primary runoff in July.

The internal poll released by Abrams’s campaign on Sunday also showed higher favorability for the Democratic hopeful: 43 percent reported having a positive impression of Abrams, compared to 29 percent who said they have a negative view of her.

Attitudes toward Kemp were more polarized, according to the survey. Thirty-seven percent reported positive views while 34 percent held negative impressions.

The Cook Political Report currently rates the governor’s race as a “toss-up.” Georgia hasn’t had a Democratic governor in 15 years.

Abrams’s internal poll surveyed 603 likely voters from Sept. 17 to 20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.