Republican wins in runoffs for secretary of state and public service commissioner in Georgia Tuesday night were an early boost to the Republican considered a major target of the left in 2020, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.
The runoffs were considered both a “final act” in the rancorous and much-disputed race for governor of Georgia this year, as well as a “dress rehearsal” for the race for Perdue’s seat in 2020.
Liberal Democrat and state legislator Stacy Abrams lost a “squeaker” to Republican Brian Kemp amid charges of vote-rigging and discouraging minority participation in the race.
Abrams never conceded the race to Republican Kemp. Almost as soon as Kemp was certified as the winner, it became almost a foregone conclusion in the press and among Democrats that Abrams would make a bid against Perdue, 68, in two years.
The closeness of the race for governor this year has made it almost certain Georgia Democrats will make a spirited attempt to unseat the freshman senator in 2020.
Abrams’ bid to become Georgia’s first-ever black governor became a nationwide “cause celebre” among liberals.
San Francisco billionaire Sue Sandler pumped an estimated $3.5 million into the Abrams campaign, while George Soros, the so-called “paymaster of the left,” gave the Georgia Democratic Party more than $1 million.
In near final results, Republican State Rep. Brad Raffensperger won 52 percent of the vote over Democrat and former U.S. Rep. John Barrow.
Raffensperger, who had President Trump’s endorsement, vowed to continue the controversial enforcement of voter ID laws and removing inactive voters from the rolls that Governor-elect Kemp oversaw while secretary of state.
Abrams, who supported Barrow, is suing to stop the practices.
In addition, Republican incumbent Chuck Eaton was re-elected to the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in the Peach State, by 52-to-48 percent over Democrat Lindy Miller. The two competed in District Three, which covers four counties in metro Atlanta.
Both races were necessitated by the failure of either major party candidate to secure a majority of the vote in the November election.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.