South Gwinnett News

With just over a week remaining before Republican primary voters in Atlanta are slated to cast their ballots, a new state poll finds Gov. Brain Kemp comfortably leading top challenger former U.S. Sen. David Perdue by double-digits. 

The latest InsiderAdvantage/Fox 5 poll pegs Kemp’s support at 54% to Perdue’s 38% and three other fringe candidates with 6% support combined.

With the primary field winner slated to take on Democrat Stacy Abrams in the general election, the statewide poll of 750 likely voters was conducted between April 28 and May 1 and had a margin of error of 3.6%.

The release of the poll came just hours after the candidates faced off in an Atlanta Press Club debate and on the first day of early voting across the state.

"This survey was conducted up to and including the night of the most recent Atlanta Press Club debate,” InsiderAdvantage Chairman Matt Towery told Fox5Atlanta.com. “Given that the debate had all the excitement of a tax audit, it is extremely unlikely that it impacted numbers in any meaningful way.”

Towery said Kemp had his best debate performance during the latest faceoff of the three televised contests. Since the last InsiderAdvantage Atlanta poll, organizers added Kemp has picked up eight percentage points.

"Our poll does show a more reasonable spread and a slightly closer contest than other recent public polls conducted in the contest,” Towery added. “However, indications are that voter turnout will be less than robust, and turnout in Georgia gubernatorial contests always requires a much tighter screen in polls to determine who truly is likely to vote. If the election were held today, we feel confident that Kemp would win."

Despite having bagged the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, Towery added that since launching his campaign, Perdue has faced no shortage of major challenges.

"Perdue has been badly outspent in the race,” he said. “That shows in a question we asked as to how enthusiastic voters are about their choice. Fifty-five percent of those who chose Kemp were enthusiastic about their choice. Thirty-seven percent who said they were voting for Perdue said they were enthusiastic about voting for him."

Towery was quick to add he doesn’t view Perdue’s struggles as a reflection of Trump’s current popularity with GOP voters across the state.

"Trump’s favorable rating among respondents was close to 80%,” he said. “So far, his popularity has not been enough to push Kemp into a runoff."

The only Democrat on the ballot is Abrams, who lost to Kemp in the 2018 general election.