Matt Towery, Republican strategist and pollster, said on Fox News’ Hannity Monday that he is “concerned” about Republican turnout in Georgia.
The former Georgia state representative said higher Democratic voter turn out in Georgia for the primaries is “not a good sign” for Republicans.
His comments come ahead of Georgia’s Republican runoff elections for U.S. Senate and governor. The Senate race is among the most closely watched contests of the 2026 cycle, as Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff seeks reelection in a state won by Trump in 2024.
Georgia’s political landscape remains closely divided, with Democrats holding both U.S. Senate seats and Republicans controlling the governor’s office.
Georgia’s Primary Turnout
Towery expressed concern with the results of Georgia’s primary election results in May, saying on Hannity “In Georgia, Democrats turned out 150,000 more voters than Republicans in the state—the red state—of Georgia, that’s not a good sign to me.”
Georgia’s May primary drew about 28 percent voter turnout, with more than 1.1 million Democratic ballots cast compared with about 941,000 Republican ballots, according to the Georgia secretary of state office.
Shortly after the tabulations, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said he’s “definitely concerned” about the early Democratic push. “I also understand there’s a lot of people that are still truly undecided, not just in the Senate race, but I think in a lot of the downballot races,” he told reporters.
Towery, who encouraged Trump to run for president in 2014 and whose polling correctly forecast Trump’s 2016 win, argued that Republicans must do more now to “lay the groundwork” for November.
“I don’t think enough of President Trump’s achievements are being put out there for the general public to see. They see this—this barrage that’s created by the liberal media. They hear nothing but war. The president has achieved phenomenal things, including, by the way, the stock market hitting another record, I think today.”
He continued, “But you don’t hear about it, and I think Republicans need to start making that case whether they have to buy ads or whatever, right now, because it’ll be too late in October and November.”
When asked if he sees pick up opportunities in New Hampshire and Michigan, Towery said, “it’s too early to say.”
The Republican primaries for Georgia’s Senate and gubernatorial races both headed to runoffs after no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.
Republicans Mike Collins and Derek Dooley advanced to a runoff after neither candidate secured a majority in the primary. Collins led the field with 40.5 percent of the vote, while Dooley received 30.2 percent. Governor Kemp has endorsed Dooley in the runoff.
Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones received about 39 percent of the vote, while businessman Rick Jackson won about 33 percent.
Towery’s concern also comes as Trump faces weakening public approval. Silver Bulletin’s polling average showed Trump’s disapproval rating at 57.6 percent on Tuesday, leaving him with a net approval rating of minus 19.1 points. By comparison, former President Joe Biden’s net approval rating was minus 13 at a similar point in his presidency, while Trump stood at minus 10.6 points at this point during his first term, according to the polling aggregator.
Democrats are hoping to turn Trump’s lower approval ratings into electoral gains in the midterms, with control of Congress hanging in the balance. The party in the White House historically loses seats in the midterms, and Democrats have overperformed in special and state elections the past year, helping fuel optimism among some in the party for November.
However, neither party is particularly popular with voters. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that unfavorable views of the Republican and Democratic parties stood at 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively. The poll of 5,103 U.S. adults was conducted April 20-26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.
Georgia Senate Race
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff has been viewed as one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection as he is one of the few Democratic seats being defended in states that Trump won in 2024. In April, the Cook Political Report shifted the race from a “toss-up” to “Lean Democrat,” matching the rating from Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Republicans control the U.S. Senate 53-47, and Georgia is viewed as a must-win state for Democrats if they want to reclaim a Senate majority, given the difficult map they face in the midterms.
Depending on the winner of the Republican runoff, Collins or Dooley would face off against Ossoff in November in the Peach State’s high-stakes senatorial race. The runoff will take place on June 16.
What Recent Polls Show
There has been limited public polling of potential general election matchups between Senator Ossoff and the Republican contenders, as recent surveys have largely focused on the Collins-Dooley runoff.
A JMC Enterprises poll of 600 likely voters conducted between May 26-27 found Collins with a wider lead than during the primary. When undecided “leaners” are counted, his lead is 55 percent to Dooley’s 39 percent. Without “leaners” the poll found Collins with 50 percent support and Dooley with 36 percent.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
A May InsiderAdvantage poll of 800 likely primary voters conducted May 20-21 found Collins leading Dooley, 46 to 40.6 percent in the runoff. About 13 percent of voters were undecided.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.
In a Quantus Insights snap poll of 739 likely Republican primary voters conducted on May 20, the day after the GOP primary, found that Collins leads Dooley by double digits, 53.5 percent to 37.2 percent. About 9 percent of voters were undecided.
The poll was conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday among 782 likely Republican Georgia primary voters. The survey polled 782 likely voters with a margin of error of 3.9 percent.
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