Trends and opinions among Georgia voters appear to be shifting since the November election, according to AP VoteCast, which surveys thousands of voters in the state before the presidential race and during the Senate runoffs.
One question asked voters whether they believed the country was heading in the right direction.
Among those who voted for Republican David Perdue in the November election:
- 74% said the country was heading in the right direction
- 25% said the country was heading in the wrong direction
Compared to the survey of voters during the Georgia Senate runoffs, among the voters choosing Perdue:
- 30% said the country was heading in the right direction
- 69% said the country was heading in the wrong direction
Looking at voters who chose Democrat Jon Ossoff in November:
- 8% said the country was heading in the right direction
- 92% said the country was heading in the wrong direction
Now that the presidential election is behind us, of the Georgia voters choosing Ossoff in the Senate runoffs – their outlook is improving a bit.
- 39% said the country was heading in the right direction
- 60% said the country was heading in the wrong direction
UNF political pollster Michael Binder says these numbers aren’t surprising.
“It’s entirely about partisanship and the fact that Joe Biden won the presidency. That’s not shocking to see,” Binder said.
Looking at attitudes toward President Trump among voters choosing Republicans: In the November election, 89% of Perdue’s voters said they had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the president, in the AP VoteCast survey. A total of 10% had a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion.
Compare that to the results of the AP VoteCast survey for the runoff: Among Perdue voters, views of the president remained similar, with 87% favorable to 12% unfavorable.
Binder says that could change after the mob that charged into the U.S. Capitol.
“It is a wildly different ballgame after what happened on Wednesday,” Binder said. “I would fully expect, obviously, there are Trump supporters who are Trump supporters. That’s fine. But I would expect there will be a large chunk of voters who will step away after what they witnessed this week.”