Trump maintains grip on Georgia GOP

Donald Trump and his allies responded to their defeats in November 2020 with a barrage of misinformation, conspiracy theories and outright lies about election fraud in Georgia that helped incite the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Even now, the mythology that the election was “rigged” continues to dominate Republican politics, as GOP candidates jockey for the former president’s support and show up at “Trump Won” rallies.

Trump’s demand that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reverse his defeat became the focus of an ongoing Fulton County criminal probe. Gov. Brian Kemp was booed at conservative gatherings for refusing Trump’s push to overturn Joe Biden’s win, and Trump even suggested at a September rally in Middle Georgia that he wished Democrat Stacey Abrams won the governor’s race in 2018.

The former president endorsed a slate of four statewide candidates — and disavowed four others — leaving his Republican adversaries weakened or sidelined.

At Trump’s urging, University of Georgia football icon Herschel Walker entered the U.S. Senate race against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock, immediately becoming the GOP front-runner in one of the most competitive races in the nation. But his celebrity didn’t scare off challengers, as Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, businessman Kelvin King and former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler joined the contest.

Then former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, also at Trump’s urging, entered the race for governor, mounting an intraparty challenge against Kemp only days after Abrams launched her bid. Perdue opened his campaign by embracing proTrump falsehoods that helped him win the former president’s endorsement.

Down the ticket, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan opted against a second term rather than face a Trump-backed rival, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger became an underdog in his reelection bid.