In a move Sunday that caught many Georgia prognosticators completely off guard, former Sen. David Perdue signaled he will soon announce he will challenge Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
This creates a unique situation in Peach State politics: a sitting Republican governor facing a potentially divisive primary as Democratic icon Stacey Abrams gears up to run as well.
The cousin of former Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue (who also served as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture), David Perdue,71, is a multimillionaire businessman who narrowly lost re-election to liberal Democrat Jon Ossoff in 2020.
Having explored a bid for Georgia’s other Senate seat in 2022, Perdue actively sought Trump’s endorsement and then stood aside when the former president made it clear he wanted University of Georgia football legend Herschel Walker to carry the GOP banner.
But Trump is now considered a cinch to endorse Perdue over Kemp.
Kemp has drawn the 45th president’s fierce animosity for failing to support his claims of voter fraud in Georgia that made possible Joe Biden’s narrow win in the state last year.
It’s unclear how the GOP primary race will resolve itself. Vernon Jones, an African-American Democrat turned Republican, has strong support from Trump supporters in Georgia and across the country.
This past August a poll conducted by Trump’s PAC found Kemp had low approval numbers among GOP voters, and in a head-to-head race, Perdue would beat Kemp 44% to 26%.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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