OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A new poll reveals that incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has a slight lead over Trump-backed Republican candidate Herschel Walker just two weeks before the highly anticipated Senate runoff.
“An AARP poll surveying Georgia voters found that Warnock has a slight edge over Walker, 51% to 47%. Warnock holds a strong 24-point lead among voters 18 to 49 years of age, while Walker is up 9 percentage points among Georgia voters ages 50 and over,” Fox News reported.
“According to the poll, 51% of respondents have a favorable opinion of Warnock. Only 45% have a favorable opinion of Walker, while more of the voters surveyed, 49%, have an unfavorable opinion of the political newcomer. The survey revealed that Georgia voters are more fond of former President Donald Trump than current President Joe Biden. Only 43% of respondents approve of the job Biden is currently doing as president, while Trump received a 48% job approval rating for his time in the White House,” the report added.
Below are more of the topline findings of the poll via Fox News:
About 16% of voters 50 and older said that “threats to democracy” was the leading issue when deciding their vote for the Senate runoff, tying in first place with 16% who said inflation and rising prices are the most important issues.
Social Security and Medicare were the issues of top concern to 11% of respondents, while the economy and jobs were most important to 10% when deciding on their Senate vote.
Inflation was the leading issue to 26% of Republican voters, whereas 29% of Democratic voters said that “threats to democracy” was the most pressing issue going into the runoff. Among all respondents, 63% said that they are either very or somewhat worried about their financial situation.
Republicans are rallying around Walker ahead of next month’s crucial runoff against Warnock.
Neither candidate received the required 50 percent of the vote on Election Day, meaning the two will be facing off again on Dec. 6.
One Republican leader who has come to the aid of Walker is Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who handily won reelection earlier this month, beating serial Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams by an even wider margin than the first time they ran against each other in 2018.
“Look, we cannot rest on our laurels here,” Kemp told an audience of Walker supporters in a Cobb County, Georgia, parking lot on Saturday, Fox News reported. “Who do you want to fight for you in the United States Senate? Do you want a guy that represents our values like Herschel Walker, or do you want a guy who’s stood with Joe Biden 96% of the time?”
Kemp told supporters that the Trump-backed Walker would “fight for the values” of Georgia and will “run over” Warnock the way he crumpled defenders when he led the University of Georgia to a college football championship in 1980.
“I know that Herschel Walker will go to the United States Senate and support our men and women in the military and our men and women in law enforcement,” Kemp said.
“I know that Herschel Walker would go to Washington, D.C., and cut our taxes, not raise them. I know that Herschel Walker will do like we’ve done in Georgia and be fiscally conservative and cut runaway government spending in Washington, D.C.”
The governor added that the election will come down to which candidate’s voters are more motivated to go to the polls or cast a ballot.
In his own comments to the crowd, Walker said he will bring the state’s values with him to Washington, D.C., would oppose biological males participating in high school girls’ sporting events, support law enforcement, and stronger border security while keeping God front and center.
“He can block, and I can run,” Walker said, using a football analogy.
Currently, Democrats hold 50 seats again as they did before the midterms, with Republicans holding 49. And although Democrats will still control the chamber if Walker wins, thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker vote, Walker noted that “51 is better than 50.”
