New FOX 5 poll: Georgia now a battleground state
ATLANTA - A new poll conducted for FOX 5 shows Georgia has become a battleground state in the race for President, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton tied.
The FOX 5 poll conducted by Opinion Savvy shows Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump tied at 43 percent.
Libertarian Gary Johnson is at 11 percent and 3 percent are undecided.
FOX 5 Political Analyst Matt Towery said, “Georgia is definitely now a true ‘battleground state,’ as much as its neighbor Florida. In fact, in many ways the cross tab results mirror those of the Opinion Savvy poll conducted for Fox 13 Tampa Bay and FOX 35 Orlando just last week.”
In comparing the Georgia and Florida polls, Towery said, “What makes the two polls so similar is the fact that Mr. Trump receives about 10% less support from Republican respondents than does Secretary Clinton from Democrats who were polled in both states. And clearly in Georgia a good portion of those lost GOP votes are going to the Libertarian Gary Johnson.”
In analyzing what Trump must do to win Georgia, Towery said, “Georgia remains a GOP state as far as voter identification based on our polling but Trump must convince suburban Atlanta Republicans and independents who tend to support polished conservative candidates such as David Perdue and Johnny Isakson, that he possesses, behind the scenes, a cool and prudent businesslike demeanor. At present, that is not being conveyed in news stories.”
For Clinton to win Georgia, Towery said, “For her part, Clinton needs to increase her female voter support, which is barely above their support for Trump. This same lack of a substantial ‘gender gap’ was seen in the poll conducted for our FOX affiliates in Florida last week.”
Towery said both candidates must buy campaign ads to win the Peach State.
He said, “It is pretty clear that both candidates will have to take to the paid airwaves to win Georgia. For the first time in decades the state is up for grabs. But with one caveat. We have seen a pattern in recent elections in which Democratic statewide candidates have appeared to be posing a serious challenge, only to see their support melt in the final weeks. But much of that “melting” was the result of aggressive and smart last minute GOP ads. This is something which Mr. Trump will have to come to understand if he is to win either Georgia or Florida. A loss in either would end any chance he might have to be elected president.”
The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Georgia was Bill Clinton in 1992.