Kemp, Abrams tied in latest Quinnipac poll; Warnock opens big lead on Walker

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - A new Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday afternoon shows Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams in a dead heat, while incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has opened a solid lead over GOP challenger Herschel Walker.

“With both candidates getting positive numbers on honesty, empathy and leadership, Kemp and Abrams are in a governor’s race too close to call,” said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

Both Abrams and Kemp are tied at 48% of voters polled. Quinnipiac said the latest poll is “essentially unchanged from Quinnipiac’s January 2022 poll when 49% supported Kemp and 47% supported Abrams.”

RELATED: CBS46 full political coverage

But the latest U.S. Senate poll is quite different from Quinnipiac’s January 2022 results, which showed 49% of respondents supporting Walker, and 48% supporting Warnock. Georgia’s incumbent Democratic senator now leads Walker by a 54% to 44% margin.

The poll was conducted June 23-27 among 1,497 Georgia registered voters, and has a .25 percentage-point margin of error.

Respondents were also asked to pick the most urgent issue facing Georgia today. Voters ranked inflation first at 41%, followed by gun violence (15%); abortion (10%); and election laws (10%).

“Despite the public’s sorrow and outrage over guns and abortion, inflation, a phenomenon that can affect virtually every Georgian, is most concerning,” Malloy said.

Kemp and Abrams are participating in two statewide, televised debates this fall: Monday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 30, both beginning at 7 p.m. Warnock has agreed to debate Walker three times, but Walker’s campaign has not confirmed his participation.

Quinnipiac’s analysis of both races show big differences by gender, race, and age. In the governor’s race, Abrams wins the support of women by a 55% to 42% margin, while Kemp is supported by men by a 56% to 29% margin.

Abrams is winning the support of Black voters (83% to 13%), while Kemp has the backing of White voters (68% to 29%).

Abrams is leading among voters 18-34 years old (61% to 36%) and 35-49 years old (49% to 44%). Kemp leads among voters 50-64 years old (52% to 45%) and voters 65 years and over (59% to 39%).

Similar numbers were registered in the Senate race. Warnock is winning the support of women (61%-37%), while Walker is supported by most men (52% to 45%.)

Warnock has the solid support of Black voters (88% to 10%), while Walker is winning the White vote (62% to 35%.)

Like Abrams, Warnock is leading among voters 18-34 years old (66% to 32%) and voters 35-49 years old (59% to 39%). Voters age 50-64 years old are split (49% for Warnock and 48% for Walker.) The UGA football legend is leading among voters 65 years old and over (52% to 45%).

The poll shows 49% of voters plan to vote in person at an early voting location; 34% plan to vote in person on Election Day; and 12% plan to vote early by mail or absentee ballot.

Georgia’s nationally watched elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

Copyright 2022 WGCL. All rights reserved.