Republican Representative Mike Collins of Georgia will compete in a runoff election against former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley. This follows a primary election earlier this month where neither candidate secured over 50 percent of the vote. The runoff will decide who becomes the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate from Georgia.
According to a recent survey conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling, Collins is currently leading Dooley by a significant margin. When respondents were asked, “If the Republican runoff race for U.S. Senate were held today, which candidate would you support?”, 50 percent favored Collins, while 36 percent supported Dooley, leaving 15 percent undecided.
The eventual winner between Collins and Dooley will face Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in a crucial senatorial contest this November. Newsweek contacted both campaigns for comments via email on a recent Friday.
The poll from JMC Analytics and Polling surveyed 600 respondents on May 26 and May 27 regarding the Georgia Republican runoff. The poll’s margin of error is 4 percent.
Among those undecided in the runoff, when asked which candidate they are leaning towards, 39 percent indicated a preference for Collins, 27 percent said Dooley, and 34 percent remained undecided. In a forced ballot scenario, Collins received 55 percent, Dooley got 39 percent, and 7 percent were still undecided.
Collins has a 61 percent favorability rating in the poll versus an 18 percent unfavorable rating. About 21 percent of respondents had no opinion, and 1 percent had never heard of Collins. Dooley’s favorability stood at 50 percent with a 19 percent unfavorable rating; 28 percent had no opinion, while 2 percent had never heard of him.
Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia has publicly endorsed Dooley after opting not to enter the race himself. Former President Donald Trump has not yet endorsed any candidate in the contest.
What Polls Show
A recent poll by Quantus Insights, conducted shortly after the primary election last week, shows Collins with 53.5 percent of the vote to Dooley’s 37.2 percent. The poll surveyed 782 likely Republican Georgia primary voters on May 20. The results were adjusted to reflect a likely Republican runoff electorate and have a margin of error of 3.9 percent.
Additionally, a poll from InsiderAdvantage showed Collins with 46 percent support compared to Dooley’s 41 percent, leaving 13 percent undecided. Conducted on May 20 and May 21 among 800 likely voters, this poll carries a margin of error of 3.46 percent.
Matt Towery, an InsiderAdvantage Pollster, commented on the expected low voter turnout in both gubernatorial and Senate runoffs. Towery noted that candidates need to focus on passionate Republican voters who regularly participate in elections. He suggested that Collins has an advantage due to his long-term involvement with the Georgia GOP, which might be balanced out by Governor Kemp’s robust political backing for Dooley.