Posted on 01/05/2006 8:37:48 PM PST by LdSentinal
Gov. Sonny Perdue heads into this re-election season and next week's legislative session riding some of the highest approval ratings of his three-year tenure, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.
The Zogby International poll of 501 likely voters gave Perdue a nearly 61 percent job approval rating, and about 70 percent had a favorable opinion of the Republican governor. Perdue will stand for re-election in November.
In head-to-head matchups with two Democratic candidates, Perdue holds a 53-37 percent lead over Secretary of State Cathy Cox, and a 56-31 percent advantage over Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, according to the poll.
Perdue drew higher approval ratings than Cox, Taylor and President Bush.
"That doesn't surprise me," said Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah). "I've always said that what citizens want is somebody they believe has the best interest of Georgia in mind and is governing with integrity. They just have to trust you, and I think Sonny has always had that trust factor."
In the closely watched Republican race for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Casey Cagle of Gainesville outperformed Republican strategist Ralph Reed in matchups against an unnamed Democrat.
In the survey, 35 percent of voters said they prefer Cagle, while 30 percent said they would choose the Democrat. When offered a similar choice between Reed and a Democrat, 36 percent chose the Democrat, and 33 percent selected Reed.
Merle Black, an Emory University political scientist, said the poll shows Perdue to be in good shape, though he expects a tighter race as November draws closer and millions are spent selling the candidates.
Democrats, Black said, "Have got a challenge in developing issues that put the governor on the defensive and make the argument that Georgia would be better off if Democrats controlled government."
Perdue's margins over Cox and Taylor have improved since a similar Zogby poll in April. At the time, Cox and Perdue were running even.
Since then, Perdue has managed the state through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and made some bold moves, such as closing schools for two days to save diesel fuel and temporarily cutting gas taxes.
The poll suggests Georgians are in a better mood than in April. Then, under half of respondents thought the state was headed in the right direction. In the recent poll, that number increased to 60 percent. In April, only 48 percent thought Perdue was doing a good or excellent job, compared with 61 percent now.
Rebecca Goss, 29, of Trenton, who interprets for the deaf in her northwest Georgia school system, told pollsters Perdue is doing a good job.
"I think he has done a lot to try and help the schools," Goss said. "He seems to care about classroom sizes, he called off school to save fuel. I know a lot of parents criticized him for it, but he's trying to do little things to help the schools."
Perdue has been criticized by Democrats because he's stalled class-size reductions pushed by his predecessor, Roy Barnes.
Poll respondent Bonnie Abernathy, 49, a business analyst from Atlanta, said, "I don't think his record has been very good on education. I don't think in general that he's done a good job."
Perdue is often described as likeable, and that impression could make him tough to beat.
John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International, said Perdue's ratings can be attributed in part to Georgia becoming a Republican state. Also, Zogby said, Georgians see "no scandals, you really can't point to any major problem he stepped into, and there is no overwhelming reason to change."
Nick Ayers, who is running Perdue's re-election campaign, downplayed the results. Most polls showed Perdue trailing throughout his 2002 campaign.
"Polls are meaningless this far out," he said. "Overall, people trust him. ... Georgians like having a real guy in office, not a slick politician who always does and says exactly what they believe people want to hear."
Morton Brilliant, Cox's campaign manager, said, "Folks think Perdue's a nice guy, but they also know he hasn't gotten the job done. Whether it's ethics and efficiency or jobs and education, we need a governor who will focus on working for all Georgians."
Rick Dent, Taylor's political consultant, said it's too early to worry. "Over the course of the next year, the race — and the polls — will change when people find out about Mark Taylor's lifetime commitment to making Georgia work for everyone — and it will change dramatically," he said.
In the lieutenant governor's race, Cagle's chief weakness remains his obscurity. Asked to express their opinion of him, 68 percent said they didn't know him well enough to do so.
Reed, a former Christian Coalition leader, is better known, but also provokes a stronger negative reaction, according to the poll. Among Republicans, 10 percent rated Reed unfavorably. Only 4 percent of Republicans disliked Cagle.
"[Reed] epitomizes what's wrong with the Republican party. It's gone too far to the right," said poll participant Walter Harris, 92, a resident of St. Simons Island. Harris, a former attorney, describes himself as a moderate Republican.
Reed, who has been dogged by his ties with disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, ran weakest in metro Atlanta. But his support ran strong among older, native Georgians.
"The Christian right is kind of my thing. If he's for that, then I'm for him," said Bonny D. Adams, 69, former mayor of Union City.
Two Democrats are also in the race: Former state senator Greg Hecht of Jonesboro, and former House member Jim Martin of Atlanta.
Staff writer Jim Galloway contributed to this article.
I always weep for the trees that are cut down to publish the AJC. As for Perdue, there is not a viable democrat to oppose him anywhere within the state.
Ol' Ralphie's gonna end up dropping out. he's a good fund-raiser, schmoozer, name-dropper, but he's got ties to Abramoff. He was being tied to that mess months ago.
I won't vote for Reed. Maybe a 3rd party candidate will run if Reed stays in and beats Cagle for the nomination.
I'm sure the dems are salivating at being able to run against Reed.
'Cept for Zell Miller. ;-)
*ping*
Perdue-Cagle '06 ! :-D
Casey Cagle for Lt. Governor!
Still peeved about Perdue's tobacco tax increase and I wish a conservative republican would challenge him, but as of now he is the best candidate.
Damn good chicken.
Remember those Leftist predictions that the millions flocking to the South and West from the Rustbelt would transform solid Republican areas into Leftist enclaves??? Looks like the Leftists are...wrong again!
I hope you are signed up to work for Casey. I am and we have quite a team of people in Franklin County working for him.
I know nothing about Cagle except that Cynthia Tucker and her lunatic buddies at the AJC have decided he is a Republican they can "work with." Shades of Johnny Isakson. Their hatred for Ralph Reed seems to me a great reason to vote for him.
That's gotta twist the panties of the Rebel Flaggots, who swore their issue would sink him.
I don't really care much about the whole flag issue, but:
1. Why does someone in Texas care?
2. Isn't it a little early to gloat about anything?
3. What will you say if Perdue loses?
Because I used to live in Georgia, and got completely worn down by the obnoxious, dishonest, and kooky flaggots.
2. Isn't it a little early to gloat about anything?
No. The flag issue is yesterday's news, if it was going to prevent his reelection, as so many of the cranks used to scream ad nauseum, his poll numbers wouldn't now be back up this high. They were wrong, once again.
3. What will you say if Perdue loses?
It is highly unlikely he will, and if he does, it will have almost nothing to do with the flag issue. It is over, and few care about it. A rather stupid episode, made worse by the embarrassing nutcases on both sides.
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