What Polls Say About David Perdue and Jon Ossoff 4 Days Before the Georgia Election
Georgia Senate candidates have just days to sway the remaining registered voters who have yet to cast their ballot before the election and polls show neither candidate has a strong enough lead to indicate how the race will go.
Senator David Perdue garnered more votes than Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff in November, but his failure to breach the 50 percent threshold forced the election into a runoff. If Perdue loses his re-election bid, Democrats will be one seat closer to gaining control of the Senate.
The most recent poll, released on Wednesday from JMC Analytics, gave Ossoff a seven-point lead over Perdue. That gap remains consistent when asking undecided voters who they were leaning towards supporting. When looking only at the seven percent of undecided voters, Ossoff received 53 percent support and Perdue had 45 percent.
Another poll, released on December 27 from Trafalgar Group, found Ossoff was in the lead at 50.4 percent, compared to Perdue's 47.7 percent. It's nearly identical to the margin Trafalgar Group identified in a poll taken a week prior, except at that point, the poll was going in Perdue's favor.
More than 2.8 million people have already cast ballots, equivalent to about 36 percent of registered voters, and turnout could top the record-breaking numbers seen in November. Runoff elections rarely garner the attention that's been placed on Georgia, but both parties have a vested interest in the winner.
If Perdue and Senator Kelly Loeffler, who is also in a runoff election, lose their seats, there will be a 50-50 split in the Senate. This effectively gives Democrats control of the chamber because, in the event of a stalemate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will cast the deciding vote, likely tilting the scales in Democrats' favor.
Georgia's runoff election will take place in the wake of the passage of another COVID-19 relief bill. On Monday, President Donald Trump signed a spending package that included $900 billion for pandemic relief, a focal point of the runoff election.
Ossoff, a staunch advocate of another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, has repeatedly attacked Perdue for being against direct payment. On Tuesday, Ossoff told MSNBC Perdue was only supporting $2,000 stimulus checks because of the upcoming election.
"If he meant this he would be on the floor of the United States Senate demanding that Mitch McConnell put up the House bill, a clean $2,000 check authorization, for an up or down vote," Ossoff said.
Perdue voted in favor of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which included a round of stimulus checks, but said he personally opposed the provision. He also voted for the most recent stimulus package, which President Donald Trump signed on Monday.
Until Trump signed, it was unclear if he'd support the package, which includes $600 direct payments, as he advocated for upping the amount to $2,000. On Tuesday, Perdue told Fox News Trump had his full support for the higher payments.
With about 60 percent of registered voters having yet to cast a vote, Trump will make a final plea for Perdue and Loeffler in Georgia on Monday, the day before the election. He and Vice President Mike Pence have made multiple trips to the state in the past few weeks, along with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Harris.
