Story highlights A Georgia poll finds Clinton leading Trump by 4 points

Georgia has only voted for a Democratic presidential candidate 3 times since 1964

(CNN) Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump in a surprising new poll of Georgia, edging the Republican nominee 44% to 40% among registered voters in the deep red state.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll , released Friday, showed Clinton with a 4-point lead over Trump, excluding third-party candidates. The Democratic nominee retains an advantage, 41% to 38%, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein included in the survey. Johnson pulls 11% support, while Stein garners 2%.

Since 1964, Georgia has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate only three times -- for favorite son Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, and Bill Clinton in 1992.

According to the poll, Trump and Clinton are viewed unfavorably by an equal share of registered voters at 58% each. And the newspaper reports that "a majority of Trump backers said they see their decision as a vote against Clinton" as opposed to a vote for Trump.

Clinton's surprising edge in Georgia follows a week of favorable national and battleground state polling for the former secretary of state after a bounce from the Democratic National Convention and fueled by Trump's own difficult stretch.

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