Landmark poll: Karen Handel, Sam Olens lead GOP runoffs
The local Republican-oriented strategy firm of Landmark Communications is out this afternoon with the first polls in the Republican runoffs for governor and attorney general.
Landmark president Mark Rountree said the firm has no dog in either fight, so he felt comfortable releasing results of the survey of 800 voters, which has an MOE of 3.5 percentage points.
In the governor’s race, former secretary of state Karen Handel has a nine-point lead over former congressman Nathan Deal, 45.8 percent to 37.1 percent. Undecideds were measured at 17.1 percent.
Among the details:
– Deal leads in his own congressional district by a margin of 53.1% to 36.7%.
– Handel leads by a margin of 56.9% to Deal’s 28.5% in the three congressional districts that include part of Fulton.
– In other parts of the state, Handel is generally running stronger than Deal: in middle Georgia’s Eighth Congressional District, Handel leads 53.8% to Deal’s 30.8% with 15.4 undecided. In the First Congressional District, home to third-place primary election finisher former Senator Eric Johnson, Handel leads 44.4% to Deal’s 25%.
– Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no gender gap in the runoff primary election for governor. Deal receives 36.9% of the male vote and 37.2% of the female vote. Handel receives 47.5% of the decided male vote and 44.2% of the female vote.
In the Republican runoff for attorney general, the Landmarks poll says former Cobb County commission chairman Sam Olens has a substantial 33 percent to 10 percent lead over state Sen. Preston Smith of Rome.
Among the details:
– Olens is thrashing Smith in the Sixth Congressional District by a 58.9% to 4.2% margin. The Sixth Congressional District is home to Olens’ own Cobb County, where Olens served as Chairman for nearly a decade.
– The 11th Congressional District is home to Preston Smith’s own Floyd County as well as part of Olen’s Cobb County. Olens leads Smith in the Eleventh District by 45.2% to 20.2%. This 20.2% represents Smiths best showing in any of the state’s congressional districts.
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140 comments Add your comment
Athens Voter
August 2nd, 2010
4:48 pm
Never heard of them….do you mean Landmark Dodge?
Fred
August 2nd, 2010
5:04 pm
maybe crime doesn’t pay after all.
Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:05 pm
Considering the election choices, and everything else, it is obvious that thinking people should be thinking about how to get out – and stay out – of GA… If there are any thinking people still there.
No need for a crystal ball to see that GA is well and truly flocked.
Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:10 pm
It is easy to imagine some relocation company promoting their services by running sound bites of the GA goobernatorial campaign, then maybe a few interviews of some of the locals, together with footage of some of the fine products of the education system, as they spin their spiel for some real estate far away from the Trashhole South.
Disavantaged Insider
August 2nd, 2010
5:11 pm
Goobers, I think you mean “well and truly fleeced.”
Suzanne Wood
August 2nd, 2010
5:13 pm
I know for a fact that Sam Olens has had a long standing professional relationship with Landmark Communications…would like to see who actually paid for the poll…..
Ralph
August 2nd, 2010
5:13 pm
Too bad.
Handel is in trouble in November when it is brought out how inexperienced she is, and didn’t even go to college. I guess this is off limits for Republicans to mention.
Olens is slick – too slick.
Jeff
August 2nd, 2010
5:15 pm
Hey Goobers — some of us love our state and are proud of our home… and many of us are working to improve it and make it better. Why don’t you take one of the many interstate highways in our great state and get the h*** out if you don’t like it here? Georgia doesn’t need complainers like you sticking around, so move out you idiot.
Besides, if the south is sooooooooooooooooooooo terrible, why have the transplant populations grown for decades? why have retirees flocked south for decades? why have companies relocated from the rust belt to come south for decades? why has business, pro sports and other expansions been so south-oriented for years?
It’s because despite your idiotic comments, Georgia and other parts of Dixie DO have a LOT to offer. Yes, there are many improvements to make, and no, we aren’t perfect…. but I would SURE as h*** rather live anywhere in the south than in Cleveland or New York City or Brooklyn or Detroit or Chicago or Nebraska or Seattle or California or Boston or Washington D.C.
Let me help you pack your bags, you Goober….
Liz
August 2nd, 2010
5:15 pm
Amen!!! This state is in deep trouble. We are thinking of leaving Georgia. This state is just not progressive enough. I don’t mean that in Dem verse Rep either. Perod even the Dems here are out of touch. Georgia’s Democratic Party is stupid and will losse everything this fall. The Republican are a bunch of phony white trash looking for a gropu to beat up on in the name of religion or pandering.
Atlantan
August 2nd, 2010
5:17 pm
Goobers – last time I checked Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Harry Reid & Nancy Pelosi ran America. The results (unless massive debt, high deficits, high unemployment, suppressing the rule of law, the rights of voters, encouraging illegal immigration and struggles in Afghanistan are something one likes) have been underwhelming at best.
Handel isn’t part of the GA good ole boy system and she is the shake up are state could use.
Red
August 2nd, 2010
5:17 pm
So Johnson’s minions are waiting for their master to tell them how to vote judging by the undecideds down there. The deck is stacked against Deal just based on population areas. It’s all a matter of GOTV now.
Crooks Rule
August 2nd, 2010
5:18 pm
Deal’s a sleazy crook—GA doesn’t need more of that—there are enough crooks already in Ga gov’t. hopefully, he doesn’t win.
Billy Joe Poteet
August 2nd, 2010
5:18 pm
Go, Karen, GO! You’re lookin’ good now, and you’ll be lookin’ even better come November!
Bubba
August 2nd, 2010
5:19 pm
So adultery (Smith) and ethics violations (Smith & Deal) are not rewarded. No surprise there. As usual, we have to choose the lesser evils.
Atlantan
August 2nd, 2010
5:20 pm
Hey Ralph – Obama went to college and check out his results. College graduate doesn’t mean a thing. Any clown willing to spend the money and time can get some type of college degree.
Independent
August 2nd, 2010
5:20 pm
I’m not a Republican (in truth, I lean more that way than toward Dems), but both Handel and Olens have impressed me for several years. Both had (at least then) a no-nonsense apporach to their duties. Handel, especially, did a great job with the SOS position she held. As a business owner, I deakt with that office a good bit and never had a problem- just the way government is supposed to be!
Jeff
August 2nd, 2010
5:21 pm
Liz — don’t let the door hit you on the way out, sweetie. You super-liberal progressives can move to your hotbed areas (California, Massachusetts, New York, Chicago, etc.) Leave the south to the more traditional folks like us.
I love how if a person is against one tiny bit of the Obama-liberal-Democratic platform, suddenly we are idiots who hate progress. If we have a solid belief in our religion or a few traditional ideas, we are considered backwards and not as smart as progressives.
Tell me this, oh wise one… how is the 40-plus-year war on poverty that liberals love so much workin’ out for ya? Oh, I see… it’s created a generation of entitlement idiots who are lazy and don’t know how to contribute to society. Nice job.
Liz kaint spelt nothing rite
August 2nd, 2010
5:23 pm
Liz, check your spelling, girl. Take your northeastern do-gooder snobbish self back where someone wants you. Progressive, my butt.
unclefast
August 2nd, 2010
5:23 pm
Would somebody define good ol’ boy for me? I may be one for all I know.
Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:24 pm
If you really want to see thinking residents of Dicksie sweat, start talking about secession and see how nervous they get (Jay Bookman included). If you want to see them move, secede and they will be gone like refugees from hell.
Yes, i can see from such as is moving in that the TrashHole South really is skimming the best and brightest from the rest of the world (LOL).
Liz kaint spelt nothing rite
August 2nd, 2010
5:24 pm
Amen, Jeff. Well said!
Jeff
August 2nd, 2010
5:25 pm
Independent — well-said. That’s one reason I’m impressed with Handel… she shook up the SOS office and did some great work there. I think she’s at least entitled to a shot at governor… going back to good ol’ boy Roy would be a step back.
And it amazes me that some progressives on here are SHOCKED that some traditional Southern people who may live in slightly-rural areas and who come from simple backgrounds and who have blue-collar jobs are not enthralled by what the liberal left has to offer… it would be just like a south Georgia minister and his schoolteacher wife moving up to Boston and railing against the pervasive liberal culture and customs up there.
To each your own, people… if you don’t like it in one area of the country, I have some advice… listen closely… MOVE!!!!!
Hey goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:25 pm
So if the Atlanta and the south are such bad places, why in the hell are you reading it’s paper? Idiot.
wjh
August 2nd, 2010
5:26 pm
If Handel is elected kiss the HOPE scholarship goodbye – you see what 8 years of Republican Majority has done so far don’t you – check out the supporitng article.
The rich get richer and you can’t get enough of it even though your not! Keep voting GOP and you’ll be giving birth to the next Mexico!!
Roy B
August 2nd, 2010
5:28 pm
Roy Barnes wants a second chance. He’s a slick trial lawyer, with a boatload of money from lawsuits and contingency fees, but wants to get even richer from the governor’s job, with access to all those billions in state money to hand out to his friends, “contributors” and his law practice! Get Roy B back in office–he’s on your side!!
Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:28 pm
Believe me, i have no problem with which POS you choose to represent your fine state. I have a strong sense of humor, and have laughed till tears repeatedly. I have lived in several international capitols, but i grew up in the TrashHole South, and will always despise that loathsome cesspit. Still, it does provide many laughs.
Independent
August 2nd, 2010
5:28 pm
Jeff, one more difference between Liberals and Conservatives: Conservatives have a built-in desire to take care of their own needs and generally be left alone. Liberals, on the other hand, want to take my wealth and redistribute it to the voting blocks that keep them in power.
luangtom
August 2nd, 2010
5:29 pm
Yawn….if the voters of GA need to be led to the voting-booth by a pollster, then they deserve what they get come November 2010. Who are these pollsters anyhow?
Deal is a smooth politician with years of experience schmoozing and Handle is an emotional wreck that needs her Midol. Barnes is royalty from the past. My, GA, has a lot to choose from. Good luck, GA……
Don
August 2nd, 2010
5:30 pm
Atlantan……..This country had this mess you mentioned above before Obama stepped into the U.S. Senate. Who are we kidding Republicans are not going to clean up one D**** thing they created nor are the Democrats. The only people who can clean up this mess is the American people by becoming more educated about Democracy instead of repeating a bunch of idiotic talking points they heard on some stupid news or radio show. Stop debating Dems vs Republicans they both created this mess idiots. Wake Up America and Grow some Balls!!! To BLAME Everything on OBAMA is disengenious or is a sign of pure ignorance. He has not done anything worse than his predecessors. I hate we have become such stupid suckers in this country. It is all a big fat joke. Bush did not do it all nor did Clinton etc. We are the blame!
Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:30 pm
Even Bill Shipp, the well-known columnist, would publish columns in the MSM about how the GA legislature was nothing but awful white trash (snake handlers, he called them).
KJ
August 2nd, 2010
5:31 pm
Is it true that Karen Handel never graduated from college? If so, that’s pretty disturbing. There’s some pretty basic and low-level jobs that require at least a bachelors degree. Apparently, being the governor of a major state does not.
to Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:32 pm
Translation: “I have lived in several international capitals” actually means ” I came from the white trash background that I now abhor and spent several years in Europe and Asia having my colon reamed out while I was face-down biting the pillow”.
Cherokee
August 2nd, 2010
5:33 pm
What goobers said.
I love Georgia too – but under Republican leadership, it’s been going downhill. And that will continue, because folks here are more worried about Mexicans and gays than they are about things like schools and transportation and infrastructure.
See ya round, losers…
Rural Education
August 2nd, 2010
5:34 pm
If Handel wins then we will be the only state where the Gov. and the Lt. Gov. have no more than High School diplomas.
smart stuff
August 2nd, 2010
5:34 pm
To all you that think a college degree is so important, I have know lot of people to run huge corp. with only a high school education. One thing college don’t give you and that is experence and Karen Handel has that and more.
luangtom
August 2nd, 2010
5:35 pm
Unclefast@ 5:23PM……..I was told I was a “Bubba”….a waitress at a fine establishment asked if she could give me a hug. I agreed. She hugged me and smiled. Then, she asked if she could hug me again. I consented and then she said, “You ARE a Bubba….yer belly is the same size as yer chest.” I proudly wear that moniker now amongst family and friends. So, I guess it ain’t so bad to be called a good ol’ boy either.
Cherokee
August 2nd, 2010
5:35 pm
Correction- what I meant was the other way around- meant that we should be more worried about gays and mexicans. I’m sorry.
Goobers
August 2nd, 2010
5:36 pm
One question: Why would any sentient being live in Atlanta, Ga, or Dixie. The air is awful, the traffic horrible, the education a joke, the politicians vile white trash(as are most of the people) the heat and humidity unbearable, and on and on. The gay-bashing obsession and the endless Bible thumping are sickening as well. Here is a hint – why the hey don’t you Southern states secede? I am sure the rest of the nation will object mightily! Not!!!
Cissy
August 2nd, 2010
5:36 pm
The best candidate was Eric Johnson. I’m either writing him in or voting for King Roy, who at least knows how to govern and has kept his nose clean.
Liz
August 2nd, 2010
5:37 pm
White Trash hate mongers need to check your penis size and grow some. You guys are a bunch of idiots this state is a joke. It has some good qualities… but over all Georgia needs to grow up and step into the 21st Century. Your Dems and Rep are a bunch of do nothing bubbas who can care less about you. YOU FAIL IN EVERY CATEGORY. Some of you hate blacks but it seems that you guys have more in common with them than you know. Trash!!
Rest of the Country
August 2nd, 2010
5:39 pm
What’s that? The Southern states want to secede? Oh well, if they really must…
Don’t forget to write! What’s that? You can’t write?
Know Thy Facts
August 2nd, 2010
5:40 pm
Why do some folks continue to harp on Ms. Handel’s lack of a college degree. Some people in this world face challenges that require that they leave home, get a job and never stop working long enough to go back to school. In many cases the experiences and knowledge gained on the job are far better than any school education. Ms. Handel has proven herself to be a great administrator and that is what is needed to manage the human resources and budget of the State of Georgia.
All those Wall Street hedge fund managers, traders and wealthy CEO’s have college degrees, in fact most have advanced degrees..and look where that got us!
Rafe Hollister
August 2nd, 2010
5:41 pm
Liz and Goobers: As my ole Daddy always told me about living at
home; “if you don’t like it, leave!” Adios!
Jeff: you said it well!
Lester Maddox
August 2nd, 2010
5:42 pm
Why are people so hung up on Karen Handel on having high school education, that make her more qualigied that I was and I ran Georgia pretty well.Most of those saying something about this are probably YANKEES who need to go back and stay, because we got along real well until they started taking over
Seriously
August 2nd, 2010
5:42 pm
Of course, Karen Handel can Seal the Deal… all she has to do is jump on some poor gay and emasculate him (literally) using nothing but teeth and claws. I can see it happening.
Alabama Communist
August 2nd, 2010
5:43 pm
When press for real numbers on his poll! Roundtree said his firm only called one propect named Handel and she said she was for the Women. Roundtree also said he called a Rome Georgia Baptist Church on the Olens-Smith Race and asked the Janitor who answer the phone would he be voting for the Pervert Smith? The Janitor said he was Democrat and kiss a Thespian while in high school and would be voting for Smith……
Liz STILL can't rite wright
August 2nd, 2010
5:43 pm
It’s not my “PENIS”. It’s my “LIZ”.
Handel Leads in Georgia Run Off | The Lie Politic
August 2nd, 2010
5:43 pm
[...] the Republican gubernatorial run off, a new Landmark poll finds Karen Handel (R) holds a nine-point lead over Nathan Deal (R) 46% to 37%, with another 17% [...]
Jeff
August 2nd, 2010
5:43 pm
Liz — ok genius, whip out yours and be a man: Tell me EXACTLY what you’d do to “fix” our state, to “fix” the South and “fix” our nation. And see if you can do it while adhering to strict liberal, progressive policy and be OPEN MINDED and TOLERANT and NOT JUDGEMENTAL. That means you can’t criticize and attack people’s religious beliefs, traditional values and cultural heritage while you do it. Ready: GO!
Jeff
August 2nd, 2010
5:44 pm
Oh, and Goobers, if you hate the South and your roots so much, why the h*** are you reading a political blog on a Southern newspaper web site? Just curious.