Sixty-seven percent of likely voters in the hard-fought battle for Georgia’s Sixth District say illegal immigration is very or somewhat concerning — yet the Democratic and Republican candidates and the local media are ignoring the issue.

The 67 percent number comes from a poll of 754 likely voters by the state’s main newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The poll also showed that 30 percent declared themselves unconcerned about illegal immigrations, generating a 2:1 advantage for any candidate who takes a strong advocacy position against the northern flow of illegal aliens.

Better still, 39 percent of swing-voting independents declared themselves “very concerned” about illegal immigration, while only 12 percent said they were “not at all concerned,” indicating a 3:1 issue among voters who could switch their vote to back either Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel if either candidate comes out strongly against wage-cutting illegal immigration.

However, coalition pressures are likely keeping the two candidates away from the issue, said D.A. King, a pro-American immigration reformer based in Atlanta

“There is nothing in it for Ossoff, because he is going to get the Democratic votes and any talk about ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ could frighten off independents or [party-switching] Republicans,” said King, founder of the Dustin Inman Society, which was named after a youth killed by an illegal-alien driver who subsequently escaped arrest. In the final days before the June 20 election, Ossoff has dropped his initially tough rhetoric and now “he’s extremely soft … he’s trying to be a ‘moderate,'” King added.

Ossoff is very dependent on donations from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which strongly favors the inflow of new immigrants and future voters. So far, his massive spending of more than $23 million has proved to be his main advantage, and he won’t threaten the flow of donations with a coalition-cracking appeal for enforcement of immigration laws.

Handel is not touching the cheap-labor immigration issue because she is lagging far behind in donations, most of which comes from local business groups and the local Chambers of Commerce, all of which oppose a federal crackdown on the supply of illegal-alien workers and customers, said King. “She is the epitome of the establishment Republican,” King said.

The media is also ignoring the issue, despite the poll results, King added. “It is not in the [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] newspaper, it is not on the radio….’ and it was basically kept out of the TV debate, said King. “They did not do another [question] after the first question which was ‘Do you support the travel ban?'” he said.

“Unless an illegal alien is a valedictorian or victim, the issue will not be brought up” by the state’s media outlets, no matter the economic impact on ordinary Americans, he added. The newspaper’s poll shows that “illegal immigration is far more important than abortion, so-called climate change and the Atlanta traffic,” he said.

The newspaper’s poll shows that “illegal immigration is far more important than abortion, so-called climate change and the Atlanta traffic,” he said.

Immigration is also as important an issue as are taxes, but less important than healthcare, which was deemed important by 81 percent of the respondents.

The immigration issue is barely addressed on Handel’s website, which says:

True national security means securing our borders. The current immigration system is broken, and we MUST fix it. We need to build a wall along our southern border, demand immigration laws be enforced, improve the reliability of temporary visa programs, and create a viable guest worker program. While I understand and appreciate that we are a nation of immigrants, and believe we should be welcoming of those wish to migrate to our great country, we are also a nation of laws, and our laws must be respected.

Her call for a “viable guest worker program is to make people think we don’t have guest worker programs,” said King, even though roughly one million lower-wage contract workers are imported each year, alongside one million legal immigrants and four million Americans who turn 18. She is “showing a lack of concern for American workers and American’s wages,” he said.

Election day is near, “there’s not much time, but it is possible to bump her into a [firm] commitment against legalization” of illegal immigrants, said King. If she’s elected, she won’t later turn against the chamber’s cheap-labor demands, he said.

Ossoff is leading the race by three points, according to a polling average calculated by RealClearPolitics.com

The newspaper poll is here.

Follow Neil Munro on Twitter @NeilMunroDC or email the author at NMunro@Breitbart.com