Georgia district 12: two Landmark polls show Republican ahead

According to Landmark Communications polls, released Friday and Monday, Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow, who represents Georgia’s 12^th congressional district, is looking at a long night tomorrow on the Election Day, and a possible loss.

Monday’s poll, which was conducted on Sunday, found Barrow’s opponent, Republican businessman Rick Allen, more than one point ahead of the Democrat, 47-46. Surprisingly, 7.1 percent of the respondents are still undecided, just two days before the election.

Both surveys included 500 likely voters in district 12 and have +/- 4.38 percent margin of error.

In the poll released on Friday and conducted on Thursday, Allen was ahead 48-44. That’s a pretty big change in just two days. It appears that at least some undecided voters moved Barrow’s way because the Friday poll shows 7.5 percent of voters undecided.

Barrow is a centrist Democrat and a member of the Blue Dog Coalition in the House of Representatives.  His district was redrawn after the 2010 census and now includes more registered Republicans than Democrats. The five-term congressman faced a tough fight in 2012, the first election in the new district, and was named one of the most endangered Democrats in the House.  He ended up winning by eight points, even though Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney easily carried the district.

The 2014 election is Barrow’s first mid-term in the redrawn district. Without the president on the ticket Democrats have reasons to be conceed.  This election, much like the races for U.S. Senate and goveor, will depend heavily on the tuout.