There's still time for Barnes to catch up.
Yeah. Don't mistake this poll as saying this race is over. It just shows that Barnes has to lead a strong campaign to win. Which we basically already knew.
Problem is, Barnes lurched strongly and publicly to the left in the primary, far more than he needed to win the nomination. That helps explain why the Independents tilt 56 to 33 for Deal in this poll.
I suppose. However, he's strongly centered his campaign around education, jobs, and cleaning up the state, all of which can appeal to independents.