If you're anxiously waiting to see who the new Georgia governor and Senate member will be the morning after the midterm November elections, please, don't hold your breath.
In Georgia, with a unique situation requiring the winning candidate to take 50 percent of the vote plus one, it's looking more and more likely that both races will require a runoff before they are settled.
And the Senate race, especially, could mean that determining which party controls the Senate might not be decided until after the Jan. 6 runoff election, if Georgia is one of the six seats the Republicans need for a takeover.
Gallup polls, noting a swing to the left in the state's electorate, said that it's unlikely that any of the four candidates will achieve the clear majority they need to win, since 27 percent of Georgians surveyed identify as Republicans, 28 percent as Democrats, and four out of 10 call themselves independents.
In the "family affair" battle of the CEOs for the seat of retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.,
Real Clear Politics has Republican David Perdue, former CEO of Dollar General and cousin of former Gov. Sonny Perdue, an average of 3.2 percent ahead of his opponent Democrat Michelle Nunn, on- leave CEO of Points of Light and daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga.
In the governor's race, Republican incumbent Nathan Deal is listed by
Real Clear Politics to be ahead of his challenger, state Sen. Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, by an average of 3.8 percent.
Deal already is anticipating the runoff by stockpiling campaign funds to pay for it. While Carter has $2.8 million compared to Deal's $2.6 million, Deal told
Access North Georgia, "We feel very good going forward that we're going to have the revenue and resources to be able to finish the campaign." A runoff for governor, if needed, would take place on Dec. 2.
The Washington Post explained, "Perdue currently has the edge in most polls. In fact the last seven public polls have shown him leading Nunn by between one and five points — a very competitive, margin-of-error race. The race goes to a runoff if no candidate gets to 50 percent plus one, and Perdue hasn't been above 48 percent in any of those seven polls.
"But these polls also show between six and nine percent of voters are undecided, so clearly there is room to get to 50 percent — for either Perdue or Nunn."
"Georgia has been under the firm grip of Republican control for well over a decade, and recent polls show that Republican candidate Perdue has a slight advantage, although the race is still considered to be a toss-up. Georgia could end up being one of the tightest Senate races this year, and could also leave the nation waiting on a January runoff election that may determine which party controls Congress' upper chamber,"
Roll Call said.
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