Former Gov. Zell Miller is splitting his ballot between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. How many others follow his lead could help determine the outcome of the top of Georgia's ticket.
The AJC poll released Friday showed a solid bloc of voters plan to cross party lines in the heated governor's race and the open Senate contest. Still more have yet to make up their minds, signaling a willingness to split their ballots.
About one-fifth of Nunn's likely voters either support Republican Gov. Nathan Deal or are yet undecided in the race for governor. And about 16 percent of Deal's likely backers haven't yet decided to back GOP Senate hopeful David Perdue, with 7 percent of them backing Nunn.
Of course, the crossover vote works both ways. About 7 percent of Perdue's likely supporters back Democrat Jason Carter's gubernatorial candidacy, and another 8 percent are undecided. And one-fifth of Carter's backers haven't made up their minds about their pick for the Senate seat, and another 6 percent are behind Perdue's bid.
You can chalk the crossover of it up to the bloc of voters who identify themselves as independents, which make up more than 25 percent of the poll's respondents. Georgia's independents typically lean toward the GOP (Deal and Perdue both outpolled their Democratic opponents with this group) but they have been traditionally more supportive of crossing party lines.
Supporters of the Libertarian candidates show stronger party unity, by the way, with very few backing either major party candidate in other races. Democratic and Republican strategists, though, hope the Libertarian support diminishes as November nears and the campaigning and TV onslaught intensifies.
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