Next year’s Senate elections in Georgia and Nevada are shaping up to be close, with President Joe Biden’s falling popularity raising GOP hopes of unseating Democrats, according to recent polling by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
In Georgia, it’s a dead heat, with Republican Herschel Walker, the former football star, at 49 percent and Sen. Raphael Warnock at 48 percent among likely voters.
In Nevada, 46 percent of registered voters said they would vote for Republican Adam Laxalt, the state’s former attorney general, and 42 percent favored Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
The numbers were included in a memo the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or NRSC, sent to supporters Tuesday, which was obtained by NBC News. Polling in both contests has been sparse heading into 2022, but the NRSC’s results match data from other recent surveys that show tight races in Georgia and Nevada.
“As you know, Republicans only need to win one net seat to gain a majority and it’s becoming increasingly clear that we have opportunities across the country to win,” Jackie Schutz Zeckman, the NRSC’s executive director, wrote in the two-page memo.
The Georgia poll, which was conducted early this month, reported a margin of sampling error of 3.4 percentage points. The Nevada survey, which was conducted last month, reported a 4.1-point margin of error.
Both states are among a crop of super-competitive races that will determine which party controls the Senate after the midterms. Biden won Georgia and Nevada by slim margins last year, but the NRSC’s polling showed that majorities of voters in both states — 55 percent in Georgia and 56 percent in Nevada — disapprove of his performance as president.
“Republican candidates are well-positioned to take advantage of the current political environment and the NRSC, bolstered by our record-breaking fundraising, will do whatever is needed to support our candidates across the country and define the Democrats early,” Zeckman wrote.
Walker and Laxalt are widely favored to win their GOP primaries. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed both.
