With five weeks left in Georgia’s race for the governor’s mansion, new poll numbers show former Gov. Roy Barnes slipping further into second place.
An InsiderAdvantage Georgia survey released this week finds Republican Nathan Deal, a former U.S. representative, with 45 percent to Democrat Barnes’ 37 percent.
Libertarian John Monds had 5 percent of the sampling. About 13 percent were undecided.
Those numbers come about a week after another poll showed the men roughly even in the contest.
IF YOU GO* What: Roy Barnes rally* When: 2 p.m. Saturday* Where: Freight Depot on Depot Street, Dalton, Ga.
“Barnes is relatively competitive for a Democrat in Georgia, but he appears to be stuck in the polls,” said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political science professor.
Barnes, who served as governor from 1999 to 2003, has never eclipsed 45 percent in any statewide poll, Bullock said, and his negative opinion rating has risen as high as 50 percent.
Barnes campaign spokeswoman Anna Ruth Williams declined to comment Thursday, saying, “We don’t comment on polls.”
But also on Thursday, Barnes issued a new video touting his jobs plan and e-mailed supporters asking for donation of $10 before midnight to fund airing the commercial across Georgia.
On Saturday, the one-term former governor plans rallies in Dalton and Blairsville, his first trip to Northwest Georgia during the election season. While in the region, he’ll also conduct “Teacher Listening Stations” to solicit views from educators, a group that spurned him in his 2002 failed re-election campaign.
When the Sept. 17 poll showed the candidates tied, some speculated that a barrage of negative ads aired by the Barnes campaign and ethics allegations raised against Deal were resonating with voters.
Deal’s campaign now says the negative attacks may have aided the longtime legislator’s efforts.
“Georgians have rejected the liberal policies of Washington Democrats and Roy Barnes – and they’re rejecting Barnes’ smear campaign against a good man who has served Georgia honorably his entire life,” said Deal spokesman Brian Robinson. “We know this is a tight race against a well-funded opponent who will say and do anything to win. We’re going to work hard every day as if we’re five points behind.”