Gov. Palin's Handel endorsement has Georgia on our minds

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Like many in the punditocracy, The Wall Street Journal's Susan Davis has Georgia on her mind.



Davis writes at Washington Wire:

How do you measure an endorsement from Sarah Palin? If you’re former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel it’s six points, according to the latest Mason-Dixon poll of Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary.

Handel, who had already been surging in the crowded primary race, was endorsed last week by the former Alaska governor as one of her “mama grizzlies.” Palin endorsed her on her Facebook page, calling Handel a “pro-life, pro-Constitutionalist with a can-do attitude and a record for fighting for ethics in government.”

On the eve of Tuesday's primary, Handel is up by six to 29% and now leads Oxendine by seven and Deal by nine 20%. At the AJC, Jim Galloway points out that among women, the Handel lead is at 34 percent

Deal, state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, and former state senator Eric Johnson of Savannah all show a certain amount of leakage in their support from Republican women.

Though the overall percentages in the GOP contest are different, the same trend can be seen in an InsiderAdvantage/Channel 2 Action News poll released on Friday.

The gender gap had already shown itself, but Palin endorsement of Handel last Monday appears to have given it more strength.

If no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will have to meet again in a run-off election which would be held August 10.

- JP