Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is leading the Senate race against GOP political newcomer and former professional football player Herschel Walker less than a week before the highly anticipated Georgia runoff, according to a new poll.
A CNN/SSRS poll released Friday found that Warnock holds a four-point lead over Walker among likely voters, 52% to 48%. Among independent likely voters, if the election were held today, 61% said they would vote for Warnock and 36% would support Walker in his Senate bid.
About 42% of likely voters said that character and integrity of the candidates were most important when deciding their vote for the Senate, while 57% said it comes down to the candidates’ positions on different issues that determine their vote.
The poll also revealed that 50% of Georgians have a favorable opinion of the incumbent Warnock, while Walker received 39% support among likely voters.
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Among Georgians, 46% of likely voters believe the economy and inflation are the top issues going into the runoff, while 17% think that voting rights and election integrity are the leading issues and 16% ranked abortion as the issue of top concern. No other issue, including crime, gun policy and immigration, was of top importance to over 10% of Georgians.
The poll is similar to the Real Clear Politics average of surveys in the runoff election, which shows Warnock leading Walker in the Senate race 51% to 48%.
Voting, election integrity and abortion were tied as the most pressing issues to likely Democratic voters, receiving 26% of the vote. Among Republicans (66%) and independents (47%), the leading issue was the economy and inflation.
After the Democrats spent hundreds of millions campaigning on abortion this cycle, the issue was placed at the forefront several midterm campaigns, including in Georgia. When the poll asked respondents what limitations Georgia should place on abortion, 50% said it should be legal with some limitations, 37% think it should be legal in all cases and 13% believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.
Nearly 50% of respondents think that Warnock has the right priorities in his race for re-election, while 43% believe Walker has the right intentions going into the runoff.
Respondents of the survey also gave President Biden a 57% disapproval rating, with only 42% approving of his handling of the presidency.
The CNN/SSRS poll was conducted from Nov. 25-29, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points.
The race initially went into a runoff in November after neither Senate candidate could secure 50% of the midterm votes required to be named the winner. The runoff between Walker and Warnock is set to take place Tuesday.