Fox News Flash top headlines for May 18
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on foxnews.1eye.us.
Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp leads former Sen. David Perdue by a 32-point margin in the Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary race, tripling his advantage from March, according to a new Fox News Poll of Georgia Republican primary voters released Wednesday.
Sixty percent of Republican voters prefer Kemp, while 28% go for Perdue (it was 50% vs. 39% in March). Another 8% support either Kandiss Taylor (6%), Catherine Davis (1%) or someone else (1%). Only 3% are undecided.
Former Vice President Mike Pence tweeted his support for the current governor Friday and is set to attend a Kemp rally on May 23, ahead of the May 24 primary.
FIRST ON FOX: KEMP BRINGS IN BIG BUCKS IN GEORGIA'S GOP GUBERNATORIAL CLASH
In December, former President Donald Trump endorsed Perdue, but just 37% say the backing makes them more supportive of the former senator – and this group prefers Perdue by 25 points. On the other hand, 24% say the endorsement makes them less supportive of Perdue, and they break for Kemp by 79 points.
Overall, 36% say the endorsement had no effect and they go for Kemp by nearly 60 points.
"The political science literature tells us that endorsements tend to be slightly less effective when the candidates are already well-known, as is the case in the Georgia Republican primary for governor," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson.
When it comes to what is important to voters at the ballot box, 65% say it’s extremely important their candidate "can win against the Democrat in November" and those voters break for Kemp by 36 points.
FIRST ON FOX: CHRIS CHRISTIE TO JOIN KEMP ON GEORGIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL NEXT WEEK
Abortion is a lower priority for Republican voters with 35% saying supporting a ban on abortion is extremely important to their candidate choice (Kemp leads this group by 19 points). Perdue is pressuring Kemp to ban abortion outright if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, which it seems poised to do in a leaked draft opinion. There is already a law on the books, signed by Kemp in May 2019 and set to take effect if the high court strikes down Roe, that prohibits abortions once cardiac activity has been detected.
The least important factor for a candidate is being a strong supporter of Trump, with a quarter (25%) saying it is extremely important to their vote decision. Perdue is ahead among these voters by 15 points.
"In this race in particular, Trump doesn’t seem to have the juice to oust a popular incumbent," says Anderson. "With fewer backing Perdue than saying Trump’s endorsement made them more supportive, this race is clearly more about the candidates themselves than Trump’s preferences."
Still, Trump enjoys a high favorability rating among GOP primary voters (78% favorable, including 56% strongly favorable). Those with a strongly favorable opinion back Kemp by 12 points, a reversal from two months ago when they went for Perdue by 13 points.
While majorities of Republican voters have favorable opinions of both Kemp and Perdue, Kemp is more popular by 16 points: 72% are favorable of Kemp (26% unfavorable) while 56% are of Perdue (39% unfavorable).
Also, more of Kemp’s supporters (83%) than Perdue’s (73%) feel certain of their vote.
Early voting started May 2 and Georgia voters are turning out in record numbers. The poll finds that among Republicans who have already voted, 60% support Kemp vs. 28% Perdue.
CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS
Former NFL running back Herschel Walker dominates the field in the Republican Senate primary race. He leads by 58 points, with 66% supporting him and 74% of his backers certain they will vote for him.
The next closest contender is Gary Black with 8%, followed by Latham Saddler (5%), Kelvin King (3%), Josh Clark (2%), and Jonathan McColumn (1%). Eleven percent are undecided.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Conducted May 12-16, 2022, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes telephone interviews (landline and cellphone) with live interviewers among 1,004 Georgia Republican primary voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. Randomly selected from a statewide voter file of registered Georgia voters, respondents were screened to identify potential participants in the Republican primary elections.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.