Kemp beats Trump-backed Perdue
Georgia GOP governor will face Dem Abrams
Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia easily dispatched Donald Trump’s hand-picked challenger on Tuesday in a Republican primary.
Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams this fall in what will be one of the nation’s most consequential governor’s races.
The results served as a stinging rebuke of Trump in a race that he prioritized above almost all others.
Angered by Kemp’s refusal to go along with his extraordinary effort to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, Trump personally recruited former Sen. David Perdue to launch a primary.
But Kemp ultimately emerged as a powerful candidate able to draw prolific fundraising totals.
“Even in the middle of a tough primary, conservatives across our state didn’t listen to the noise. They didn’t get distracted,” Kemp told cheering supporters, before calling on his party to rally behind his campaign.
In defeat, Perdue struck a unifying tone.
“I want you to know tonight that I am fully supporting Brian Kemp in his run to beat Stacey Abrams,” Perdue said. “It’s emotional for all of us, we’re disappointed, I get that. Let’s take a few hours, lick our wounds, and tomorrow morning, you’re going to hear me going to work for Brian Kemp to make damn sure that Stacey Abrams is never governor of Georgia.”
In all, five states were voting Tuesday, including Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Minnesota.
Democrats were especially focused on a runoff election in south Texas, where longtime incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar was facing a fierce challenge from progressive Jessica Cisneros in a race where abortion was a prominent issue. Cuellar is the last anti-abortion Democrat serving in the House.
In Alabama, conservative firebrand Rep. Mo Brooks was running to represent the GOP in the race to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby.
And back in Georgia, Democratic Rep. Lucy Mcbath defeated Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in suburban Atlanta after being forced into a rare incumbent-on-incumbent primary after Republicans redrew the congressional map. Mcbath, whose son was murdered, has become a vocal advocate for gun control.
Not far away, in Georgia’s 14th congressional district, leading Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene won her primary election.
Tuesday marked the first Georgia election under a new voting law adopted by the Republican-backed state legislature.
The changes made it harder to vote by mail, which was popular among Democrats in 2020 amid the pandemic; introduced new voter identification requirements that critics warned might disenfranchise Black voters; and expanded early voting in rural areas that typically vote Republican.
The new law also banned handing out food or water within 150 feet of a polling place, a practice common in urban areas where there are typically long voter lines.
Despite concerns about the impact of the law, there were no major or systemwide issues reported in Georgia.
There were sporadic reports of polling locations opening late, minor equipment troubles and some voters finding themselves at the wrong location.
In the Atlanta suburb of Woodstock, 42-year-old land surveyor Nathan Johnston said he was voting for Kemp because of his leadership during “a tough four years.”
“We didn’t stay shut down any longer than we had to and worked our way through the pandemic, and the economy is doing pretty good, so I think that reflects well on him,” he said.