PHILADELPHIA -- As the Democratic National Convention gets under way today, Georgia's Democrats are touting new internal polling that shows the state firmly in play in November.
The poll, conducted June 30-July 6 by Lake Research Partners of Berkeley, Calif., shows the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to be a dead heat. Forty-one percent of likely general election supporters back Clinton, 40 percent support Trump and -- critically -- 16 percent remain undecided.
Here's the requisite grain of salt: This is an internal poll conducted on behalf of the Democratic Party of Georgia. And while the polling averages for the state, via RealClearPolitics.com, shows Trump with an average 4.2 percentage point lead in Georgia, no public poll of the state has been released since May. So consider these fresh numbers that come with a caveat.
The poll comes as Democrats gather here for their four-day soiree with any number of issues to deal with, including the future of its national party chairwoman and the specter of a revolt by Bernie Sanders' delegates.
Georgia Democrats begin their day with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast at the Doubletree Philadelphia Airport hotel featuring U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia. The convention itself begins at 4:30 p.m. The night's events included speeches by Sanders, First Lady Michelle Obama as well as House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta.
But, back to the poll for a moment. the poll found both Trump and Clinton remain remarkably unpopular in Georgia. Fifty-five percent of voters have an unpopular view of Trump; 53 percent view Clinton the same way, although Clinton is 6 percent more popular among independent voters than Trump.
See the polling memo here: LRPmemo.GeorgiaDemocraticParty.f.072016
About the Author
