Democratic and Republican Senate candidates in Georgia are in a statistical draw towards Tuesday’s second round of elections, according to new research for a Republican super PAC.
Why it matters: In both elections, Democrats advanced the early vote, pressing Republicans to increase their participation on election day to recover. The tie suggests a high ball in disputes between Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
By the numbers: The Preserve America poll, conducted by Adam Geller, interviewed 500 likely voters over the weekend and included 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 had 45% against Warnock’s 46%.
The intrigue: The poll showed with great relief how Democrats got initial support: about 54% of respondents said they had already returned their ballots.
- Among early voters, Ossoff rose in the race against Perdue 54% -36%; 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.
- Participation will be instrumental in determining the winners and the resulting balance of power in the United States Senate.
Be smart: Half the vote came after Sunday afternoon’s revelations that President Trump called Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked him to “find” enough ballots to declare him the winner in the November election.