Democrat's Barnes Running Evenly with GOP Hopefuls in Ga. Governor Race
Bruce Drake
Democrat Roy Barnes, the former governor of Georgia, is running even or within the margin of error of all potential Republican rivals in his race to reclaim his old job, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted March 17. The margin of errror is 4.5 points for all match-ups.
Barnes is tied at 41 percent with state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who was leading the Republican field in a late February survey by Public Policy Polling. Six percent preferred another candidate and 11 percent were undecided.
Rep. Nathan Deal leads Barnes 43 percent to 40 percent with 5 percent preferring another choice and 13 percent undecided. Deal announced earlier this month he would resign from Congress to concentrate on the governor's race but said later he would postpone his departure until after he had a chance to vote against the health care reform bill.
Former Secretary of State Karen Handel leads Barnes 42 percent to 39 percent with 5 percent preferring some other candidate and 14 percent undecided.
Barnes leads former state Sen. Eric Johnson 40 percent to 38 percent with 6 percent preferring some other candidate and 16 percent undecided.
Barnes and Oxendine are the most recognized of all the candidates with only 14 percent saying they didn't know enough about them to be sure of their opinions. That number ranges from 24 percent to 40 percent for the others.
The Rasmussen results for Barnes vs. the Republicans are generally in the same ballpark as theFebruary PPP poll.