(The Hill) — Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, remain deadlocked in the state’s crucial Senate race, according to a new poll released Tuesday by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Walker held a narrow 2-point lead over the incumbent Warnock, according to the poll, with 46% of likely Georgia voters supporting the former NFL star and 44% backing the sitting senator.
Walker’s slim lead is within the poll’s margin of error and would not be enough to win the race outright. If neither candidate garners 50% of the vote in Georgia, there would be a runoff election. Warnock narrowly won his Senate seat in a January 2021 runoff special election against then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R).
Just under 50 days out from the November election, the September poll showed a slight boost for Walker, who was barely trailing Warnock in the last Journal-Constitution poll in July. Warnock led Walker by 3 points in July, 46% to 43%, again within the margin of error.
However, a Quinnipiac University poll last week showed Warnock with a 6-point lead over Walker. Warnock breached the majority mark in the Quinnipiac poll, with 52% support compared to Walker’s 46%.
After some haggling between the two campaigns, the candidates announced last week that Warnock and Walker would be participating in a televised debate on Oct. 14 with Savannah, Ga., NewsNation affiliate WSAV. The Hill is owned by NewsNation’s parent company Nexstar.
As Democrats have seen a recent boost at the polls, some have cautiously begun to hope that their losses in the House and Senate will not be as severe as initially predicted. However, some Democratic strategists have said they’re worried that the polls may be fueling hope that won’t pan out, citing similarly dashed hopes in 2016.