POLL WATCH. Gov. Brian Kemp is backing Derek Dooley for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat next year because he says the former football coach has the best chance to win. But a new poll suggests that among the three Republican candidates Dooley has the most work to do.

The poll shows Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins locked in close races in hypothetical matchups, each within the poll’s 4.3 percentage point margin of error.

But Dooley is outside of that margin, trailing Ossoff by nearly 7 percentage points. In a head-to-head matchup, 42.1% of voters favored Ossoff while 35.4% chose Dooley.

Collins performed the best, earning 37.7% to Ossoff’s 37.8% — essentially a tie. Carter polled at 37.1% compared to Ossoff at 40.2%.

The poll, conducted by Quantus Insights, surveyed 624 registered likely voters from Sept. 9-12. The poll also found Ossoff had an approval rating of 47% while 37% disapproved and 16% were unsure.

President Donald Trump’s rating was split evenly with 49% approving and 49% disapproving with 2% unsure.