by Dan McCaleb
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are virtually tied in a new poll of likely voters in Georgia.
According to the American Greatness/TIPP poll of 835 likely voters conducted from Sept. 16-18 in conjunction with TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, Trump holds the slightest of leads, 47.9% to 47.6%, over Harris, well within the poll’s ±3.5% margin of error. An additional 3.6% of respondents said they were unsure and 0.8% said another candidate.
When third party candidates were included as an option, the results shift only slightly: Trump holds 47.3% support; Harris has 46.7%; Green Party’s Jill Stein 1.4%; and Independent Cornell West 0.8%.
“The race is tied in every way,” Pollster Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, told The Center Square. “Georgia is unlike Wisconsin, where Trump historically over-performed compared to the polls. In Georgia, Biden did better than the polls in 2020. So I expect a tight race …”
On the issues, the economy remains the top concern of Georgia voters by far, with 41% of respondents naming it No. 1. The border/immigration is second, with 14% of respondents identifying it as their top concern. Abortion (the top concern of 9% of respondents), protecting democracy (8%), and health care (8%) followed.
“There are a few positives for Trump: people realize he is strong on immigration, which is important in the context of Laken Riley,” Mayur said, referring to the college nursing student murdered by an illegal immigrant. “Also, Kamala does not poll among Blacks as strong as Biden and Clinton.”
The poll also asked voters about Harris’ recent policy position changes.
Harris now says she supports building a border wall after years of criticizing Trump over the position. A majority of voters surveyed, 53%, say the policy flip by Harris is politically motivated for the coming election; 31% say it is genuine; 15% are unsure.
On fracking, which Harris in 2019 said she would ban but now says she won’t, half of those surveyed – 50% – said the switch is politically motivated, 26% said it was genuine, and 24% were unsure.
“I’m not surprised about Kamala’s fracking and border wall data,” Mayur said. “Absent convincing explanations, they don’t help her.”
Pollsters also asked voters whether they agree or disagree with the following statement: “The ABC News debate moderators worked in favor of Kamala Harris’s candidacy and against Donald Trump.”
Nearly three of five of those surveyed, 59%, agreed with the statement; 31% disagreed; and 11% were unsure.
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​Dan McCaleb is the executive editor of The Center Square. He welcomes your comments. Contact Dan at [email protected].
It seems the constituency of the polls needs to be reviewed. One poll I read had Harris leading President Trump 52 to 48%. The group polled however was limited to a democrat group. In other words, President Trump garnered 48% of the already Harris leaning group. When expanded outside this group, when it included Republicans and Independents, President Trump took 69% of the vote, Harris 28% with 3% spread over multiple candidates. We cannot rest on those laurels and need to make sure to vote. Encourage your friends, neighbors and family to vote as well. We must, America must, have President Trump back in office.