Republican candidate Herschel Walker is ahead of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race by 5 percentage points, according to a new survey.
Walker earned the support of 48% of respondents, while Warnock gained 43%, according to Rasmussen Reports, which conducted the poll. Four percent of respondents said they’d vote for another candidate, which was the same amount of those undecided.
Under Georgia election law, if no candidate earns 50% of the vote outright, a runoff election with only the top two candidates is subsequently held. Per the Rasmussen survey, Walker would need only half of all undecided voters to win outright, while a victory for Warnock would only be possible with a runoff in which he gains votes from Walker or minor candidates.
The crowd in Walton County, Georgia was amazing! @HerschelWalker #TakeBackAmericaBusTour pic.twitter.com/HYKGp8Sgrg
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 27, 2022
The Senate race in Georgia is considered among the most competitive in the nation as Republicans seek to retake the seat, won by the late three-term Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson in 2016, who was replaced with Kelly Loeffler, by appointment, when he resigned. Loeffler lost a special election to serve the remainder of Isakson’s term in 2020 to Warnock, a presidential election year where then-President Donald Trump also lost the state.
Walker, a prominent former college football player, was recruited to challenge Warnock by Senate Republicans and gained the early support of both Trump and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell – who have otherwise been at odds, politically. Since Oct. 4, his campaign has faced scrutiny amidst allegations, first published by the Daily Beast, that he paid multiple women to abort pregnancies he conceived with them, despite calling himself “100% pro-life.” (RELATED: Warnock, Walker Clash Over Support For Joe Biden, Scandals)
Earlier polling following the allegations showed Walker significantly trailing Warnock, by 12%, according to SurveyUSA, which conducted the poll and which FiveThirtyEight grades “A” for reliability. In the weeks since the allegation broke, Rasmussen’s survey would appear to suggest that Walker has rebounded. He currently leads by an average of 0.6% across all major polls, per RealClearPolitics.
The poll also showed that if a presidential election were held in the state, today, 47% would vote for Trump while 39% would vote to re-elect President Joe Biden. Georgia’s run-off election rule does not apply to presidential elections, meaning that Trump would win the state’s 16 electoral votes.
The survey contacted 1,053 likely voters registered in Georgia and had a margin of error of 3%, with a 95% confidence level. FiveThirtyEight grades Rasmussen Reports with a “B” for reliability.
Walker and Warnock’s campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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