Gallup poll finds Georgians’ political ideologies almost evenly split

According to a report by Gallup published today, Georgia voters have grown increasingly bipartisan in recent years, and the Peach State now hosts just as many Republicans as Democrats, including independents who lean Republican or Democratic.

Between Jan. 1-June 30, 2014, Gallup asked 2,647 Georgians about their political identity, and the results are as follows:

Republican – 27%

Democrat – 28%

Independent, leaning Republican – 15%

Independent, leaning Democratic – 12%

Independent, no lean – 13%

Georgia conservatives still have a majority, with 39 percent identifying themselves with that ideology; only 20 percent identify themselves as liberal.  However, since Gallup started asking this question in 2008, 39 percent is the lowest number of conservatives the state has seen, and the 20 percent of liberals is the highest ever.

That’s not a big surprise in Georgia, since the state has seen a change in demographics favoring Democrats and liberals.  However, the fastest growing minority group in the state – Hispanics, is not necessarily aligning with the left.

According to some recent polls of the two most competitive state-wide races in Georgia, Hispanics actually prefer the conservative candidates, like Georgia Goveor Nathan Deal (R) for re-election and businessman David Perdue (R) for U.S. Senate.  

The report by Gallup concludes that since the party affiliation is so evenly divided, runoffs in the gubeatorial and U.S. Senate races are likely.  The goveor’s race runoff is scheduled for Dec. 2, 2014, while the Senate runoff won’t happen until Jan. 6, 2015, three days after the 114th Congress convenes for a new session.