GA Primary Election 2022: Kemp, Walker Lead In GOP Polling For Races

GEORGIA — As Georgia voters prepare to winnow the field in Tuesday’s primary election, Gov. Brian Kemp remains heavily favored in polls to win the Republican nomination over former Sen. David Perdue.

And football legend Herschel Walker — a political newcomer supported by former President Donald Trump — has a wide lead in polling data over other GOP candidates hoping to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The polls will be open for Tuesday's primary election from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can verify your precinct and polling location by visiting the Secretary of State Poll Locator. If you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to cast your ballot.

A Sunday Insider Advantage/Fox5 Atlanta poll shows Kemp with 52 percent of the vote and Perdue with 38 percent. And a Fox News poll released Wednesday shows Kemp even further ahead, with 60 percent of the vote versus Perdue’s 28 percent. Kemp needs only one vote over 50 percent of the primary turnout to avoid a runoff election with Perdue.

The Republican winner will face Stacey Abrams, who’s running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, in the general election on Nov. 8. Abrams narrowly lost the election for governor to Kemp in 2018.

Allies of the two candidates clearly are following the polls. Former vice president Mike Pence plans to rally in Cobb County with Kemp at 6 p.m. Tuesday, just before polls close, and several GOP governors have already campaigned for Kemp. In fact, the Republican Governors Association has invested about $5 million in Georgia to support Kemp, an unusually large amount for the RGA to spend on a primary, according to The Washington Post.

Perdue, on the other hand, was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, in part because Kemp would not help overturn President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election. But as Perdue’s fund-raising efforts foundered and he lagged at the polls, Trump started to distance himself from his chosen candidate.

While Pence is supporting Kemp in person, Trump will limit himself to a free tele-rally at 7 p.m. — to start only after the polls close.

U.S. Senate Race

Another Georgia race that will be watched nationally is the battle for a U.S. Senate seat that helped give Democrats control of the body last year. Raphael Warnock is seeking his first full term after winning election to an unexpired term a year ago. He is expected to handily win over Tamara Johnson-Shealey.

Warnock, 52, made history last year when he became the state’s first Black senator.

Before running for office, Warnock served as the pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once held the same post.

A poll by Landmark Communications shows Walker with 60 percentage points support, and six other candidates mostly in single digits.

Walker — the 1982 Heisman trophy winner at the University of Georgia, where he led the Bulldogs to a championship — spent most of his time as an NFL running back with the Dallas Cowboys. He supported Trump for president in 2015 and campaigned on Trump's behalf.

Walker, 59, is focused on the economy, hammering Democrats for high inflation and gas prices. His plan for the economy includes rolling back federal regulations to promote business, building the Keystone Pipeline and increasing fossil fuel energy production, and cutting taxes across the board, according to his campaign website.

USA Today reports Walker supports finishing Trump’s southern border wall and calls for the country to “heavily invest” in the military.

An Associated Press report noted a turbulent personal history that could affect Walker's Senate bid. Public documents detail accusations that Walker — who has talked about his struggle with mental illness — repeatedly threatened his ex-wife’s life, exaggerated claims of financial success and alarmed business associates with unpredictable behavior. Walker did not respond to requests for comment.

Top GA Election Post On Ballot

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who also resisted helping Trump to overturn the 2020 election results, is leading in the polls as well, but nowhere near as decisively as Kemp is.

Raffensperger faces a challenge from election denier U.S. Rep. Jody Hice and others in a race to be the state’s chief election official in a time when some Republicans like Hice have indicated a willingness to possibly violate the law and overturn election results they do not like, Georgia Public Radio reported.

Raffensperger has attacked Abrams and Democrats over their concerns with Georgia’s new voting law. Record early voting numbers for the primary are evidence SB 202 was a good reform that did not harm access to the polls, he says.

“I think it’s competitive,” Brian Robinson, a longtime Georgia GOP operative, told Politico. “And I don’t know that many prognosticators saw that coming a year ago, that Raffensperger is in it.”

A poll late last month from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the University of Georgia showed Raffensperger and Hice were deadlocked in the high 20s, Politico said. Nearly 40 percent of voters were undecided, and the two other candidates — former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle, who lost to Raffensperger in 2018, and former probate judge TJ Hudson — combined for about 9 percent.

Turnout High For Primary Election

With interest in both races running high, early voting in Georgia has already broken records, according to a statement Sunday from Raffensperger’s office.

More than 850,000 early voters cast ballots through May 20, Raffensperger said, marking a 168 percent increase over 2018, the last gubernatorial primary, and a 212 percent jump over the 2020 primary.

Anyone registered by April 25 can still vote in the party primary of their choice or cast a nonpartisan ballot in person on Election Day or by returning a previously requested absentee ballot by 7 p.m. Tuesday. To find your assigned Election Day polling place, visit the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov.

Ballots in many counties will include county commission and school board seats; state court judge; chief magistrate judge; state Senate and House districts; U.S. Senate; and U.S. House of Representatives.

The ballots will also include statewide elections, such as governor, secretary of state, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, state school superintendent and labor commissioner

To vote in person or apply for an absentee ballot, you will need to show ID. There are six acceptable forms of photo ID:

• Georgia Driver's License, even if expired
• Valid ID issued by any state or the Federal Government
• Valid employee ID issued by the Federal Government, the State of Georgia, or a county, city, or other government entity of Georgia
• Valid US passport
• Valid US military ID
• Valid tribal ID

If you are applying for an absentee ballot, or you are a first-time registrant by mail who has not already provided a photo ID, there are five more forms of ID you can use:

• Current utility bill
• Bank statement
• Government check
• Paycheck
• Other government document

For more information about Georgia's ID requirements, visit the Secretary of State's page.

Election Day Voting

On Election Day, you must vote at your designated polling place. You can find your assigned polling location on your voter registration card, by logging into the Secretary of State's My Voter Page, or by contacting your County Board of Registrar's Office.

When you get to your polling place, show your photo ID to the poll worker. A poll worker will check your photo ID, verify that you are registered and at the correct polling location, issue you a voter access card or ballot, whichever is applicable, and allow you to vote. Learn how to vote at polling places in Georgia.

For more information, visit mvp.sos.ga.