Many Georgia voters are waiting to see which Democrat is nominated to run against U.S. Sen. David Perdue before deciding if they will back him for another term, according to a recent poll conducted exclusively for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
About 35% of voters said they support Perdue, a Republican, and 21% would back a generic Democratic opponent. However, another 41% said it depends on who the Democratic nominee is.
William Blake is a 54-year-old master electrician in Leesburg and solidly in Perdue’s camp. He used to vote for officials in both parties, but since the Benghazi scandal has been firmly supporting Republicans.
“Ever since Trump has been in office, the Democrats have not passed any bills,” he said. “Everything he does, he’s being fought against."
The poll of 1,028 registered voters was conducted Oct. 30 to Nov. 8 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
About 50% of voters said they approve of Perdue's job performance, and a similar number said they view Perdue favorably. His favorability rating has increased marginally in polls since January, but so has the percentage of voters saying they have unfavorable opinions of Perdue.
In the most recent poll, 34% said they view the senator unfavorably.
Four Democrats have announced they are running to unseat Perdue, a first-term Republican, in 2020. They are business executive and former Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Sarah Riggs Amico, Former congressional candidate Jon Ossoff, Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry and former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson.
Zoa Hepburn, a 32-year-old bartender who lives in Atlanta, is a Democrat who says she has “zero interest” in voting for Perdue.
“I don’t think he’s a great person,” she said. “I obviously don’t personally know him, but he seems to echo a lot of what Trump says, which sort of disgusts me. ... I guess I just can’t imagine standing behind anybody who stands behind Trump, basically.”
More on the AJC Poll:
» Trump faces tough re-election fight in Georgia
» Georgians support impeachment inquiry, split on Trump ouster
