Kemp defeats Perdue in Georgia, a major blow to Trump

Source: The Hill | May 24, 2022 | Max Greenwood

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was projected to win his renomination for a second term on Tuesday, overcoming a primary challenge from former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and, by extension, former President Trump.

ABC and NBC News both called the race for Kemp around 8:30 p.m. ET.

Kemp, a onetime ally of the former president, stirred Trump’s ire following the 2020 presidential election after he rebuffed his pleas to overturn President Biden’s electoral victory in Georgia. Trump vowed to campaign against Kemp, eventually persuading Perdue to enter the race for governor in hopes of ousting him.

But despite carrying Trump’s endorsement, Perdue struggled to gain traction among Georgia Republican voters. Polling in the run-up to the primary showed Kemp leading Perdue by double-digit margins.
Kemp’s victory on Tuesday dealt only the latest blow to Trump’s endorsing power, undermining the former president’s argument that he has the ability to pick winners and losers in GOP primaries, even in his post-presidency.

To be sure, there were other factors at play that benefited Kemp. Despite Trump’s opposition to him, he won the support of a broad coalition of Republicans, who largely see his first term in the governor’s mansion as a success for conservative policy priorities.

Throughout his four years as governor, Kemp has aggressively pursued a deeply conservative agenda, signing into law a six-week abortion ban, imposing new limits on early voting and approving a “constitutional carry” law that allows Georgians to carry firearms without a permit.

Perdue, meanwhile, centered his campaign on his alliance with Trump and the former president’s baseless claim that widespread voter fraud robbed him of a second term in the White House in 2020.

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