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New poll shows Marjorie Taylor Greene is vulnerable in primary matchup

Strahan, a healthcare executive, entered the race in September

Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, Courtesy

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Jennifer Strahan

A new poll obtained by Jewish Insider suggests that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) may be facing a viable Republican challenger in Jennifer Strahan as the first-term incumbent prepares to defend her seat in the open House primary for Georgia’s newly drawn 14th Congressional District.

The poll, conducted by the GOP firm TargetPoint, shows that Strahan, a 35-year-old healthcare executive who lives in the southeast portion of the district and entered the race this past September, still faces an uphill battle in her quest to unseat Greene, the far-right conspiracy theorist who has frequently drawn controversy for her inflammatory public statements. 

Among 450 potential Republican primary voters who were surveyed, 60% said they would vote for Greene over Strahan if the election were held at the time the poll was conducted between Jan. 13 and 17. Strahan, for her part, pulled in 30% of the voting share. The margin of error is 4.6%.

But when voters were informed, among other things, of Greene’s history of incendiary comments, including “a number of anti-Jewish statements” as well as her support for the Nation of Islam, the poll showed that Strahan was statistically tied with the freshman congresswoman at 41%.

The poll was commissioned by “a group of Georgia Republicans who want to show that there is a viable, conservative alternative to” Greene, according to a Republican political consultant and fundraiser in Georgia who spoke with JI on the condition of anonymity.

The consultant declined to provide specific names of the backers. There is no other publicly available polling on the race.

Strahan is among three Republican challengers in the race, including Mark Daniel Clay and Charles Lutin. 

Marcus Flowers, one of four Democrats competing to unseat Greene, has raised $3.3 million, according to the Federal Election Commission, but experts view the Army veteran as a long shot due to the partisan makeup of the district, which remains deeply conservative even with a redrawn congressional map that includes deep-blue portions of southwest Cobb County in metropolitan Atlanta. Much of the district is situated in the more rural northwest part of the state.

The poll suggests that the new boundaries could slightly benefit Strahan in the primary. The small number of respondents who said they were undecided or envisioned voting in the Democratic primary or not at all were asked exclusively if they would “consider voting for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Republican opponent.” Though the survey did not specify a candidate, 100% responded in the affirmative.

The primary will be held on May 24.

While the poll shows some promise for Strahan, she is facing a steep fundraising deficit. As of September, Strahan had only pulled in around $56,000, according to the latest filings from the FEC. Greene, by contrast, has raised $6.3 million.

But as Greene continues to draw scrutiny for her provocative statements, Strahan sees an opening, as she explained in an interview with JI last month. 

During her brief time in Congress, Greene, 47, has often been accused of espousing antisemitic tropes, including support for QAnon conspiracy theories and social media comments in which she suggested that California wildfires were caused by a space laser controlled by a Jewish banking family. 

Greene has also likened mask and vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany, even after apologizing for such comments and visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this month, Twitter permanently suspended Greene’s personal Twitter account, citing “repeated violations” of its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

On Thursday, Greene, posting to her Telegram account, once again likened vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany. “This past year the Democrat’s obsession with vaccine cards proved they are like the Nazi’s who forced people to carry ‘health pass,’” the congresswoman wrote.

In a statement to JI, Strahan said that such comments were further proof that Greene is unfit to serve in the House. 

“Rep. Greene’s apologies in the past for similar comments clearly meant nothing to her,” Strahan charged. “Her behavior embarrasses most Georgians, displays her ignorance of history, and explains why she is so ineffective. Our district deserves new leadership.”

A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to a request for comment from JI.

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