Poll: Trump leads GOP presidential ticket in Georgia

Donald Trump is the GOP presidential frontrunner among likely Republican voters in Georgia, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia poll.

Why it matters: Despite his legal troubles here and elsewhere, the former president is still the preferred choice.

• Half of Republicans say he is the strongest candidate to defeat President Biden in 2024.

By the numbers: The survey of 807 likely Republican voters (conducted August 16-23 with a margin of error of +/- 3.4%) shows Trump leads the pack with 57% of likely primary vote. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is well behind in second with 15%.

• Other contenders polled in the single digits, but around 14% of respondents said they were undecided, according to the AJC.

Zoom in: About half of the respondents say the Fulton County charges against the former president are serious while another 44% said they are not.

• 71% said they've made up their minds about Trump's guilt or innocence in connection with the Jan. 6 attacks.
• 84% said politics played a major role in Trump's Georgia indictment while 5% said it wasn't a factor.

Of note: About 61% of likely Republican voters believe widespread voter fraud took place in the 2020 election.

• However, 41% said Trump behaved "inappropriately" in his infamous phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, compared to 32% who said he did act appropriately.

Meanwhile: Gov. Brian Kemp is the most popular Republican in Georgia, with an approval rating near 80%. Approval ratings for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Raffensperger are a mixed bag, with Jones polling at 44% and Raffensperger at 46%.

What we're watching: 37% of Republicans said they would not support a candidate who has been convicted of a felony while 41% said they would.

• 22% were undecided.

Go deeper: Read the full survey results

Disclosure: The AJC and Axios are both owned by Cox Enterprises, but Axios did not participate in the administration of the poll.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the dates of the survey and the margin of error.