ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - Fresh off his primary win, Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is now faced with a new challenge as a new poll shows him trailing his Democratic rival by seven points.
On May 20, Deal won the Republican primary by capturing 72.15 percent of the total vote, earning the right to face state Sen. Jason Carter in the general election.
By a margin of 48-41 percent, voters support Carter, the grandson of former Georgia Gov. and President Jimmy Carter, over Deal, according to a Rasmussen poll released Monday.
The poll further shows three percent of voters like another candidate in the race, while seven percent remain undecided.
Carter has made education and promoting small business the focal point of his campaign.
Deal's campaign centers on Georgia's growing economy.
In the primary, Deal beat out Dalton Mayor David Pennington and John Barge, the state's school superintendent, to capture the Republican nomination.
Rasmussen Reports conducted the survey of 750 likely voters in Georgia on May 21-22. The margin of sampling error is +/-4 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.
Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com.
Dem challenger leads GOP incumbent by seven points in Ga. governor race
