Rep. Jack Kingston has opened a slight lead over businessman David Perdue in Tuesday’s Georgia Republican Senate runoff election.
But new polling shows that whoever wins now trails Democrat Michelle Nunn.
Kingston, a veteran congressman, and Perdue, a former Dollar General chief executive officer, are in a battle that pits a longtime Washington insider against a political newcomer railing against all things Washington.
Kingston was up 48-41 percent in a July 16 Landmark Communications/Atlanta Channel 2 Action News poll. The two were even in the metropolitan Atlanta area, while Kingston had a big lead outside the region.
Channel 2 political analyst Bill Crane is quoted on the station’s website as saying, “I think it will be close but I do believe it will be Jack Kingston’s election.”
But the winner faces a tough challenge. The seat is currently held by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who is retiring, and Democrats are eyeing Georgia as one of two states where they could unseat Republican incumbents. The other is Kentucky, where Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell faces Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.
The Georgia poll showed Nunn up by 8 over Kingston and 6 over Perdue.
“I think Michelle Nunn would prefer to run against Jack Kingston. Twenty-two year incumbent, PAC money, special interest, her preferred race is the race that I think she’s going to get,” according to Crane.
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