The Atlanta Journal-Constitution commissioned a poll of Georgians that was conducted May 9-12."Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are locked in a statistical tie in Georgia, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll that laid bare the deep divide over the presidential race.
Trump’s 4-point lead over Clinton — he’s at 45 percent — is within the poll’s margin of error, meaning neither can confidently claim a state that’s voted for the GOP nominee since 1996. Sprinkled throughout are reminders of the challenges both face in capturing Georgia: dim voter enthusiasm, high unfavorability ratings and deep skepticism from voters.
Perhaps the most telling sign of all: Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders polled higher than both in one-on-one matchups, winning a potential contest with Trump 47 percent to 42 percent. Although Clinton seems poised to win her party’s nomination, the AJC poll is among a string of surveys bolstering Sanders’ case that he poses the bigger threat to Trump.
In short, partisans from both sides hate the other party’s candidate.
That gives Georgia’s independent voters, a reliably conservative bunch that has backed Republicans the past two decades, an even more influential role in November. The poll found independents were split right down the middle over the leading contenders. An additional 13 percent of independents either said they are undecided or support neither candidate.
“I don’t agree with either leading candidate,” said Luke Donohue, a 25-year-old attorney who is considering a vote for a Libertarian candidate in November. “My friends tell me I’m helping Hillary. And if I lived in Ohio or Florida, that may be more true. But I am not going to vote blindly just because of party allegiance.”
Another indelible message of how polarizing the race was can be found in the response from Georgians asked why they back Clinton’s campaign. About half say they see their vote for Clinton chiefly as a vote against Trump..."
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/poll-clinton-vs-trump-a-tossup-between-unpopular-c/nrMhZ/
