SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails In U.S. Senate Race By 2

by andrewalker08, Tue Sep 30, 2008 at 11:08:29 AM EDT

Absolutely awesome. Another one comes on the radar, Jerome

We may have a race on our hands for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Saxby Chambliss.

A new WMAZ-TV (Macon) poll conducted by SurveyUSA says that Democrat Jim Martin only trails the Republican by two points. This latest poll seems to confirm the numbers released by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) yesterday that showed Chambliss leading Martin by just three points [Source: Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, "New Georgia Poll Shows Martin Within Three Points Of Chambliss", September 29, 2008].

U.S. Senate - Georgia

Saxby Chambliss (R) - 46%

Jim Martin (D) - 44%

Allen Buckley (L) - 5%

Undecided - 5%

[Source: WMAZ-TV (Macon), "13WMAZ Poll: Obama, Martin Tighten Ga. Races", September 30, 2008]

Twelve days ago, Saxby Chambliss led his Democratic opponent by 17 points in a similar SurveyUSA poll [Source: Georgia Politics Unfiltered, "SurveyUSA Poll: McCain & Chambliss Hold Big Leads", September 18, 2008]

Tags: Georgia, Jim Martin, poll, saxby chambliss, U.S. Senate (all tags)

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll:

Holy crap, can't we just have Election Day today??

by randymi 2008-09-30 08:25AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Pay back time

Great poll. Let's never forget we owe something to Saxby Chambliss for what he did in the 2002 campaign against Max Cleland. We need to see to it that he is paid back in full.

by pollbuster 2008-09-30 08:25AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Pay back time

You can say that again.

by fogiv 2008-09-30 11:16AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Let's also not forget

That Jim Martin, the Democratic candidate, is a good candidate, a good Democrat, and from what I hear, a good person, too.

Saxby Chambliss is an ass, but Jim Martin has much, much more to recommend him other than "he's not Saxby Chambliss" or "he's a Democrat."

by drew 2008-09-30 11:18AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Let's also not forget

Touche

by pollbuster 2008-09-30 11:59AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll

What is happening here, Andre?!

by steve m 2008-09-30 08:41AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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I don't know...17 points in 13 days?!?

That's just weird.

by andrewalker08 2008-09-30 08:45AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: I don't know...17 points in 13 days?!?

I figured the DSCC poll was just a partisan operation to try and stimulate some interest in the race, but SurveyUSA is for real.

Has Chambliss done anything that might account for this? Does he ever do anything?

by steve m 2008-09-30 08:59AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Well Saxby Does Have Problems With His Base...

...They weren't too happy with his support for the Gang of 10 energy proposal.

He was boo'd for his work on the immigration bill that failed.

The Republican base in Georgia think Saxby is a big-spending, liberal, so that could be a reason for his recent drop in the polls.

It could also be an anti-incumbent attitude.

I think it's a multitude of factors.

by andrewalker08 2008-09-30 09:05AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Looks like SUSA's last sample was an outlier

Other than it, only Republican polls have had Chambliss up by double digits recently. Rasmussen has had this race within single digits for a while now.

by miliberal 2008-09-30 09:02AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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It would be sweet to send "Zaxby" home

Some of us don't forget his dispicable campaign against Max Cleland. Zaxby, you are a dirty rotten scoundrel.

by activatedbybush 2008-09-30 11:17AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Not fully buying it, yet.

I would love this to be true, but I am not fully buying it yet, only because I have not heard that much anger towards Chambliss lately. Politicians in Georgia usually have to piss off the voters to get voted out. Having an I next to your name does a lot of good here.

I would love to see Martin try and pin Chambliss not only with Bush, but with Purdue. it is becoming more obvious that the gas crisis in Atlanta is partly to do with the inaction of the state government. A few days before Ike even hit, Gov. Perdue was warned that Atlanta would face a gas situation. Now it is three weeks later and 80% of stations still do not have any fuel.

Chambliss and Perdue are two incompetent peas in a pod and since we can't punish Sonny at this time, let's punish Saxby.

by gavoter 2008-09-30 11:24AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails In U.S. Senate

Read the internals of the poll. 9% have already voted and are 2-1 democratic both for senator and president.

by mo 2008-09-30 11:24AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails In U.S. Senate

That is crucial. 9% have ALREADY voted. No, Obama obviously won't win Georgia but watch for the early voting numbers in Ohio this week as they just started today. If Obama is leading by 2:1 in early voting in places like Ohio, McCain is going to have to swamp Obama to win across the country.

by sweet potato pie 2008-09-30 11:44AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails In U.S. Senate

But 3% of the already voted are also still undecided.
I have a hard time believing that 9% of the voters already voted when early voting only started on 9/22, and there has been no weekend voting. Especially when there is usually only 1 location per county and Atlanta is in a gas crisis.

I wonder if that was somehow misunderstood about voting in the primaries. Our Primary turnout this past year was pathetically low.

by gavoter 2008-09-30 11:52AM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails In U.S. Senate

Only 1% of those that have already voted listed undecided. It could be that they voted third party and chose undecided because they weren't given another option.

Bob Barr is on the ballot in Georgia.

by sweet potato pie 2008-09-30 12:00PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails In U.S. Senate

I was refereing to the Senate race.

I do not doubt that some people have gone and early voted, I just don't see 9% of Georgia voters having headed to the polls already.

When I went to early vote 2 years ago there was only 1 location for all DeKalb County (about 750,000 people) and there were only 6 voting stations. DeKalb is the County with the most Democratic votes and I just don't see 9% having already voted.

I would love it if it were true, but that number just seems way too high for me after only 1 week of early voting.

by gavoter 2008-09-30 12:05PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Southern Senate Races

Angry Southerners (NC, SC, KY, GA, MS) want to take it out on the GOP by voting against their party in the Senate races but sticking with the Republicans at the top of ticket.

Sounds fine by me.

by zeitgeist9000 2008-09-30 12:28PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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I agree, but...

Most recent polling would suggest that they're not even sticking with the Repubs at the top of the ticket in NC.

by thurst 2008-09-30 01:01PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: Southern Senate Races

And Tennessee. Lamar! is being held to 50% by a generic Democrat, an unknown challenger who does not even hold an elective office.

We may get to know the name of Bob Tuke in the next month along with the others.

by woody 2008-09-30 10:30PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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Re: SurveyUSA Poll: GA Dem Trails By 2

Georgia and Alaska always poll too favorably to Democrats. That has been true for as long as I've followed this stuff closely, beginning in '96. Those states are like New Jersey to Republicans; laughably false optimism.

The Begich race is not as lopsided as we prefer to believe.

Gad, I'd thrill to play this race on Intrade at bargain rate. It's a cheap pickup, much better than any interest rate. This poll has promoted a 7 point move on Intrade today. Keep it coming. :)

by gary kilbride 2008-09-30 01:22PM | login to reply | 0 recs

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GAS LINES

If you couldn't buy gas for three weeks without waiting in line for 5 hours, you'd take it out on the incumbent, too.

by drfranklives 2008-09-30 04:08PM | login to reply | 0 recs