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Poll: GOP All but Certain to Hold Georgia, Iowa Senate Seats

Race in North Carolina between Burr and Ross remains tight

Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley, right, and Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson appear to be coasting in their respective Senate re-election races. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley, right, and Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson appear to be coasting in their respective Senate re-election races. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows the Senate races in Georgia and Iowa all but decided, while the North Carolina contest remains tight.

A survey of early voting in Georgia showed challenger Jim Barksdale ahead of incumbent Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson by 1 point among voters who cast early ballots. But Isakson held a commanding 54 percent to 40 percent lead among all likely voters. 

If a candidate fails a to clear 50 percent in the Georgia race in November, the top two vote-getters will advance to a January runoff election. 

[Johnny Isakson May Have to Wait Until January for Victory]

In Iowa, incumbent GOP Sen. Charles E. Grassley had a commanding 18-point lead over his Democratic opponent, former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, 56 percent to 38 percent. Grassley is running for a seventh term. 

However, the race in North Carolina remains close with Sen. Richard M. Burr leading Democratic former state Rep. Deborah Ross by a single percentage point, 47 percent to 46 percent in the Quinnipiac poll.

Among early voters so far, Ross has outpolled Burr, 61 to 34 percent. Burr leads among white and male voters while Ross leads among women and nonwhite voters.

The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates the North Carolina race a Tossup. The Georgia and Iowa races are deemed safe for the GOP.

The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 707 likely voters in Georgia, 791 likely voters in Iowa and 702 likely voters in North Carolina by landlines and cellphones from Oct. 20-26. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points in Georgia and North Carolina, and 3.7 percentage points in Iowa. 

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