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News polls show Clinton, Trump in dead heat in Georgia
Three public polls show Clinton now within the margin of error
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
ATLANTA (CFP) — Three new public polls show that Hillary Clinton may be poised to do something no Democrat has done in 24 years — carry Georgia in a presidential race.
The latest poll results come as Priorities USA, a Clinton-allied Super PAC, announced that it would begin airing TV and radio ads in the Peach State — the first sign that the Clinton campaign may make a play for the state’s 16 electoral votes.
All three polls showed Clinton within the margin of error in her contest against Donald Trump, in a state Mitt Romney won by 8 points in 2012.
The poll results included:
- Landmark Communications: Trump, 47 percent, and Clinton, 43 percent, within the margin of error plus or minus 4 points.
- Fox5/Opinion Savvy: Trump, 50 percent, and Clinton, 46 percent, within the margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 points.
- Atlanta Journal Constitution: Trump, 44 percent, and Clinton, 42 percent, within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 points.
In addition to those polls, a Washington Post/Survey Monkey survey of online respondents gave Clinton a 3-point lead, 45 percent to Trump’s 42 percent. However, that survey did not use a random sample and, therefore, its margin of error cannot be calculated.
The last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried Georgia was when Clinton’s husband, Bill, won in 1992. However, with independent Ross Perot in the race that year, Bill Clinton won with only 43 percent of the vote.
In the past 50 years, a Democrat has carried Georgia with a majority only twice, in 1976 and 1980 when Georgian Jimmy Carter was the nominee. During the same period, Republicans have pulled off that feat seven times, including the last four elections in a row.
In addition to Georgia, three other Southern states are also in play this year — Virginia, Florida and North Carolina. These four states are the largest in the South outside of Texas, with a combined 73 electoral votes, about a quarter of what is needed to capture the presidency.
The latest state polls show Clinton with a strong lead in Virginia and smaller margins in North Carolina and Florida.
No Democrat has captured all four of these states since Harry Truman back in 1948.
Report: Internal GOP polls show Trump in trouble in Georgia
New York Times reports Trump in “dire risk” of losing the Peach State
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
ATLANTA (CFP) — Internal Republican polls show that Republican Donald Trump is in danger of losing to Democrat Hillary Clinton in Georgia, according to a report in The New York Times.
The Times attributed to its October 12 report to people briefed on the polls who spoke on condition of anonymity. The newspaper also reported that Clinton’s campaign has concluded that Georgia is winnable, although her camp has made no move so far to put resources into trying to capture the Peach State.
The Times did not give any specific polling numbers for the race or indicate whether that polling took place before or after video surfaced on October 7 in which Trump made braggadocious comments about being allowed to grab women’s genitals because of his celebrity.
The last public poll in Georgia, conducted by WSB-TV/Landmark on September 20-21, showed Trump at 47 percent and Clinton at 43 percent, which was within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage votes. That means that from a statistical perspective, the race was a tie.
A Republican presidential candidate has not taken Georgia in 24 years, since Clinton’s husband, Bill, carried the state back in 1992. Mitt Romney won it by 8 points in 2012.
In addition to Georgia, three other Southern states are also in play — Virginia, Florida and North Carolina. These four states are the largest in the South outside of Texas, with a combined 73 electoral votes, about a quarter of what is needed to capture the presidency.
The latest state polls show Clinton with a strong lead in Virginia, with races in Florida and North Carolina within the margin of error.
No Democrat has captured all four of these states since Harry Truman back in 1948.
Georgia U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson announces he has Parkinson’s disease
Despite the diagnosis, the Republican lawmaker plans to run again in 2016
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
ATLANTA (CFP) — U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson has publicly disclosed that he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, but the Georgia Republican says he still plans to run for a third term in 2016.
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson
“My diagnosis has not impacted my ability to represent the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate,” Isakson said in a June 10 statement. “I am busier and have more responsibility today than ever before in my political career, and I couldn’t be happier about that.”
“I am eager to take my record of results to the voters of Georgia as I run for re-election in 2016.”
Isakson, 70, who was first elected to the Senate in 2004, said he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive and potentially debilitating neurological disorder, in 2013. He said he is still in the early stages of the disease “and my main symptoms are the stiffness in my left arm and a slowed, shuffling gait.”
Isakson’s office released a statement from his Georgia-based neurologist, Dr. Thomas Holmes, saying “I believe he is fully capable of continuing to perform his duties as a U.S. senator, and I believe he is fully capable of running for re-election and serving for another term.”
Prior to disclosure of his diagnosis, Isakson was considered a prohibitive favorite for re-election in 2016. Georgia trends strongly Republican in statewide races, and a May poll put Isakson’s approval rating at a whopping 71 percent among state GOP voters.
In his statement, Isakson said he “wrestled” with whether to disclose his illness publicly.
“In the end, I decided I should handle my personal health challenge with the same transparency that I have championed throughout my career,” he said.
Isakson came to the Senate after a long career in the Georgia legislature, where he rose to the position of House minority leader.
After failed campaigns for the Peach State’s governorship in 1990 and the U.S. Senate in 1996, he was elected to the U.S. House in 1999, replacing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich after Gingrich unexpectedly resigned. He rose to the Senate after Democrat Zell Miller decided to retire in 2004.
Isakson is chairman of two Senate committees, Ethics and Veterans Affairs.
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