In what could be sobering news for the Democrats' 2006 Lt. Governor nominee, a new Insider Advantage /Majority Opinion poll conducted Sunday night shows former state Rep. Jim Martin in single digits with both former WSB-TV reporter Dale Cardwell and DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones in double digits among likely Democratic primary voters.

Democratic U.S. Senate

If the race were held today, the results would be:

Vernon Jones: 21%
Dale Cardwell: 14%
Josh Lanier: 5%
Jim Martin: 3%
Rand Knight: 1%
Undecided : 56%

Matt Towery, Chairman & CEO of Insider Advantage Georgia, says of the poll results, "[Vernon]Jones has most of the African-American vote which equals nearly 50% of the primary. He must concentrate on the 54% of African-Americans who do not know him to put him near a Democratic nomination."

2008 is a year where identity politics is running rampant with eighty-five to ninety percent of black voters backing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination.  The "Obama effect" may end up benefitting Vernon Jones as he is running in a primary dominated by voters that look like him.

Some Democrats believe that Vernon Jones as the Party's nominee for U.S. Senate against Republican Saxby Chambliss would be disastrous in November given Jones' past allegations of sexual misconduct and his calling the state Democratic Party a party of losers.

Vernon Jones and four other Democrats will compete for for their Party's nomination in the July 15th primary.  A run-off primary, if necessary, will be held on August 5th.

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WSB-2 in Atlanta reported this evening on a new Insider Advantage poll showing Saxby Chambliss with 68% name recognition statewide.  His approval/disapproval numbers were 39/29 percent.  Pretty lousy numbers for an incumbent, and WSB's Lori Geary said as much, though her pointing to the war as the cause of Chambliss' woes is at best half right.  Immigration is his real Achilles heel.  There is too much documentation of his contradictory statements on the issue (supporting a guest worker program when speaking to farm and business groups, while preaching the gospel of 'border security and no amnesty' to the fidgety Repub base).

That was the good news.  Now, the not-so-good news.

Insider Advantage also polled two the three Democratic candidates, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones and former investigative reporter Dale Cardwell (Rand Knight was left out).  Jones, by all accounts the current front-runner for the nomination, had 53% name recognition, but the approval/disapproval was a disturbing 14/39.  Cardwell, the FairTax-ing immigration hawk, had 29% name recognition, with approval/disapproval at 15/14.

Saxby Chambliss can be beaten.  Whether we have the candidate to beat him is the more open question.

wsbtv.com should have this and maybe more.  

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Georgia is a state we have heard very little about as far as the Senate contest.  Apparently the Georgia GOP is very strong, but Saxby Chambliss only won his campaign in 2002 by a narrow margin and only after running one of the dirtiest campaigns in memory.  There are apparently now three stated challengers:  Vernon Jones, DeKalb Co CEO, Dale Cardwell, a reporter, and Rand Knight...

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A new Georgia poll shows that incumbent GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss could be vulnerable if former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes should enter the race for the Senate seat. Chambliss only polled 2 points ahead of Barnes in the new InsiderAdvantage poll.

http://bluesunbelt.com/showDiary.do?diar yId=619

Saxby Chambliss  42%
Roy Barnes          40%

DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones who does not have as much name recognition statewide as Barnes was able to keep Chambliss under 50% in polling as well.

Saxby Chambliss   48%
Vernon Jones        31%

http://www.insideradvantagegeorgia.com/

No previous polls or trend lines available on this race.

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