GOP, Dems to decide gubernatorial nominees Tuesday
ATLANTA - Georgia’s gubernatorial candidates spent Monday making their final cases to become their party’s nominee in the November General Election.
The Republican race still appears to be headed towards a runoff, according to an exclusive FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy poll released late last week. Front-runner Casey Cagle, who is polling at a little less than a third of the GOP vote, will likely face one of the five other candidates in the field.
New FOX 5 Poll: Cagle, Abrams leading in Georgia primaries for governor
Secretary of State Brian Kemp, State Senator Hunter Hill, businessman Clay Tippins, and State Senator Michael Williams all are seeking to beat the sitting Lieutenant Governor in Tuesday’s primary.
The big issues among the candidates have been immigration and gun rights. While most are in agreement on the issues, there is the question of who is best suited to carry out the conservative agenda.
RELATED: GOP Georgia governor hopefuls all agree on no gun control
Meanwhile, the Democrats appear to have a strong frontrunner in former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams. She polled at about 56 percent in an exclusive FOX 5 Atlanta/Opinion Savvy poll. Abrams faces former state Rep. Stacey Evans.
The Democrats have mainly focused on funding for public education and criticism of cuts to the HOPE scholarship program. The candidates have also gone after each other's legislative records on the topic. Evans continued to challenge Abrams over her record on HOPE scholarships, accusing her of overseeing cuts to the program. Abrams defended her record, saying that she worked alongside Republicans to save HOPE under in the face of financial pressure.
Abrams went after Evans for past statements on making work requirements a condition for Medicaid recipients. Evans said that she did not support such requirements and decried stereotypes about recipients not working.
Either candidate would be the first female Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Georgia and, if elected in November, the first female governor of the state.
RELATED: Medicaid requirements, HOPE scholarship top priorities for Dems in governor race
The Associated Press contributed to this report