Oxendine Holds a Commanding Lead

John Oxendine, Georgia's fire and insurance commissioner, holds a commanding lead over all other Republican gubernatorial hopefuls in an early look at next year's state GOP Primary.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Georgia shows Oxendine with 35% support among those likely to vote in the state's open Republican Primary. His next closest competitors are Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel with 11% and Congressman Nathan Deal at 10%. But 33% are not sure which candidate they prefer.

State Senator Eric Johnson has three percent (3%) support, while State Representative Austin Scott tallies two percent (2%). Conservative businessman Ray McBerry is supported by one percent (1%), and five percent (5%) like some other candidate.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of those likely to vote in the GOP Primary have a favorable opinion of Oxendine, while just 18% view him unfavorably. Twenty percent (20%) don't have an opinion of Oxendine. These numbers are largely unchanged from April.

Forty-nine percent (49%) have a favorable view of Handel, with 12% unfavorable. But like all the candidates other than Oxendine, she is little known by many Georgia voters. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say they don't know enough about Handel to voice an opinion of her.

For Deal, his favorables are 28% and his unfavorables are 14%. But 58% don't have an opinion about the 16-year congressman.

Johnson is viewed favorably by 21% and unfavorably by 14%, with 66% not sure what they think of him.

Twenty percent (20%) have a favorable regard for Scott, while 11% view him unfavorably. But nearly seven-out-of-10 Georgia voters (69%) aren't sure what they think of Scott.

McBerry has 17% favorables and 14% unfavorables, also with 69% who have no opinion of him.

This statewide telephone survey of 463 Likely Republican Primary Voters in Georgia was conducted by Rasmussen Reports June 17, 2009. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Statement from Team Oxendine:

At some point, John's opponents will need some new spin. John has demonstrated respect for his opponents by publicly acknowledging that with six candidates, a runoff is a reality. John has demonstrated in a very consistent manner that he has earned the trust and respect of the conservative movement in Georgia and John will be the conservative candidate in the runoff.

The numbers speak for themselves:

* John has more than a three to one lead over his two closest opponents.
* When you combine the numbers of his two closest opponents, he has a greater than 10 point lead over their combined numbers.
* When you combine the numbers of all other announced candidates and the "other" category, John leads all those combined.
* John's approval rating is at a solid 61%. John is the only Republican with an approval rating higher than 50%.


"With Roy Barnes in this campaign, Georgia Republicans understand we must nominate the strongest candidate to run in the general election. John Oxendine is that candidate," said Kathryn Ballou, campaign manager.

"John's opponents will say the poll numbers do not matter. The polls are not worth the paper they are printed on. In other words, John's opponents validate the central premise of John's campaign. John Oxendine is the grassroots Governor who represents people - the people who participate in these polls. John's establishment opponents, who listen to the special interests in Atlanta and Washington DC, simply are out of touch with what the grassroots in the Georgia Republican Party want in a nominee for Governor," said Kathryn.

"John's very proud of where the campaign is and he will continue to work very hard to earn the trust and support of Georgia," said Kathryn.

John Oxendine
Governor 2010

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