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Poll: Nunn widens lead over Perdue

ATLANTA — A new poll in Georgia's U.S. Senate race shows Republican candidate David Perdue is slipping further behind Democratic candidate Michelle Nunn.

The Landmark Communications poll conducted exclusively for WSB-TV asked active Georgia voters who they would choose if the election were held today.

Nunn received 47 percent of the vote and Perdue received 40 percent. Libertarian candidate Amanda Swafford received 3 percent and 10 percent of respondents remain undecided.

"David Perdue being behind Michelle Nunn is surprising," Channel 2 political analyst Bill Crane said.

"There's a widening or stagnant gender gap. Mr. Perdue does not seem to be moving or closing his number. He's about 20 points behind Michelle Nunn in females," Crane told Channel 2 political reporter Lori Geary.

The poll shows Perdue with a 7-point advantage among men but trailing Nunn 52 percent to 34 percent when it comes to women voters.

Nunn has a 65 percent advantage when it comes to African-American voters while Perdue maintains a 20-point edge among white voters.

Crane said Democrats need to make sure they can convince black voters how important the election is for Georgia.

"She really needs to shore up her support among core Democratic Party voters, and that's the black vote.  Just thinking they've got nowhere else to go is not a good strategy," Crane said.

The same poll showed the governor's race may be tightening. Democrat Jason Carter now leads Republican Nathan Deal by a 44 percent to 40 percent margin, down from a 7-point difference in the previous poll.