The Democratic and Republican candidates for Senate in Georgia are statistically aligned towards Tuesday’s second-round election, according to a new poll for a Republican super PAC.
Why it matters: In both elections, the Democrats advanced with early ballots, putting pressure on Republicans to increase their turnout on election day to catch up. The tie poll suggests a jump ball in the races between Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
In numbers: The Preserve America poll, conducted by Adam Geller, polled 500 likely voters over the weekend and included both cell phones and landlines. The survey had a margin of error of ± 4.38 percentage points.
- Perdue had 45% of the vote against Ossoff’s 46%.
- Loeffler also held 45% against Warnock’s 46%.
The intrigue: The poll cast a great deal of relief on how Democrats have gained early support: about 54% of respondents said they had already returned their ballots.
- Among the early voters, Ossoff was 54% -36% in his race over Perdue; and Warnock led Loeffler by a margin of 54% -37%.
- Among those who did not vote, Perdue led 56% -38%; Loeffler had a 55% -36% advantage.
- Voter turnout will be key in determining the winners and the resulting balance of power in the US Senate.
Be smart: Half of the poll came after revelations on Sunday afternoon that President Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked him to “find” enough ballots to declare him a winner in the November election.