Perdue enters Ga. gov race, taking on his ex-pal Kemp

Ex-Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) launched a Republican primary campaign against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, setting the stage for a bitter fight within the GOP instigated by former President Donald Trump.

Perdue, who lost his 2020 senate reelection bid, claims he can unify the proTrump and more moderate GOP factions to hold off what is sure to be a potent Democratic challenge from voting rights activist Stacey Abrams.

“[Kemp] failed all of us and cannot win in November,” Perdue said in a campaign video that repeatedly excoriated Abrams. “Kemp caved before the election, and we are paying the price.”

Kemp, a one-time friend and ally of Perdue, vowed to fight what he says is an effort to punish him for refusing to join Trump’s “big lie” campaign to overturn President Biden’s win.

Trump quickly backed the bid by Perdue, calling him “highly respected.

“I can’t imagine that Brian Kemp, who has hurt election integrity in Georgia so badly, can do well at the ballot box (unless the election is rigged, of course),” Trump said in an email message.

The impending GOP fight in the Peach State, which analysts joke could make Sherman’s March seem like child’s play,could hurt Republican efforts to keep control of the nation’s newest battleground state.

Trump has repeatedly targeted Kemp, saying Kemp didn’t do enough to overturn Biden’s electoral victory in Georgia. “The MAGA base will just not vote for him after what he did with respect to election integrity and two horribly run elections, for President and then two Senate seats,” Trump said.