A poll conducted for Fox 5 Atlanta by Opinion Savvy August 16-17 shows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton tied in Georgia. The poll of 730 registered likely voters has a margin of error of 3.6%. *Crosstabs will be posted on our website*
The results from voters who were asked for whom they would vote for president if the election were held today:
- Hillary Clinton: 43%
- Donald Trump: 43%
- Gary Johnson: 11%
- Undecided: 3%
Analysis from InsiderAdvantage Chairman Matt Towery:
“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.
What makes the two polls so similar is the fact that 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.
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 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.
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 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.”