Warnock’s Negatives Skyrocket in Georgia, Poll Shows

Elections

Warnock faces increased scrutiny over church-owned apartment evictions

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.) / Getty Images Alana Goodman • October 21, 2022 3:23 pm

A flood of negative advertising against both candidates in Georgia appears to be hurting Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D.) image more than Republican challenger Herschel Walker’s in the final weeks of the election, according to an internal Walker campaign poll obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

While the internal polling shows a tight race, consistent with independent surveys showing the race within the margin of error, Walker’s pollster says the surveys show that criticism of Warnock is starting to take a toll on his favorability rating in the run-up to Election Day.

Warnock’s favorability rating has dipped to 40 percent, a 5-point decrease since the campaign’s previous poll taken 10 days ago, prior to the debate. The portion of respondents who view Warnock unfavorably has also increased 3 points, to 47 percent.

The findings come as Warnock has faced increased scrutiny over his church-owned apartment complex’s attempts to evict low-income residents, which was first reported earlier this month by the Free Beacon. Warnock has also been hit with a deluge of negative ads highlighting his ex-wife’s accusations that he tried to run her over with a car.

The poll also follows a debate between Warnock and Walker, in which the Republican went in with low expectations and avoided any significant blunders.

Opinions on Warnock are now on par with Walker, who is viewed favorably by 42 percent and unfavorably by 46 percent, according to the poll. By contrast, Walker’s numbers have stayed fairly consistent since early October—when he was at 43 percent favorable and 47 percent unfavorable—despite an onslaught of negative advertising and news articles targeting him.

The Moore Information Group’s Erik Iverson, a pollster for Walker, said this finding indicates that months of relentless negative media coverage of Walker are already “baked in” to voter perceptions, while coverage of Warnock’s vulnerabilities is now starting to break through with voters.

“You have an 8-point swing over the last 10 days,” said Iverson. “Generally speaking when you see movement in image, the ballot trails that by about two weeks.”

Iverson said this trend has been most noticeable among soft Republicans, independents, and black voters.

Warnock has “seen a negative 25-point shift in his image among independents” and a 10-point negative

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