After years of humbling losses to an ascendant Republican Party, Georgia Democrats say this year they've finally found their savior. And he goes by the name of Donald Trump.
The party issued a memo to supporters across the state this week that included polls conducted by the left-leaning Lake Research Partners that suggest a GOP ticket headlined by Trump or, to a lesser extent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, gives Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton a shot in November. Even some Republicans warn that the GOP contender could be vulnerable in Georgia if the party doesn’t unite behind the nominee.
“We as Republicans should never underestimate the Clinton machine and the potential for a very close presidential election in Georgia in 2016,” said Heath Garrett, a veteran GOP operative and adviser to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
More: Democrats plan, again, for a comeback in Georgia
You can find the pollster's presentation and the party's memo here.
Here's a look at the pollster's head-to-head Clinton-Trump and Clinton-Cruz matchup:
And a closer look at the crosstabs in a Clinton-Trump contest:
Democrats also threw in this slide about Isakson, who is seeking a third term this November. Pollster David Mermin said he'd expect the percentage of voters voicing support to re-elect the Republican closer to 40 percent:
Party chair DuBose Porter, who last week trumpeted a new statewide organizing effort, said the research "validates" the party's confidence that Georgia could be a battleground state.
"2016 has proven to be the year of opportunities," he said, "and we aren’t letting any of them pass our great state by.”
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