Nah, I’m done, says Perdue

Former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) announced Tuesday he would not make a comeback bid in 2022 after losing his Senate seat in one of the state’s runoff elections last month.

Perdue was considering taking on Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who ousted Sen. Kelly Loeffler in the other runoff for the right to serve for two years.

“I am confident that whoever wins the Republican primary will defeat the Democratic candidate,” Perdue wrote in a note to supporters. “Georgia is not a blue state.”

Perdue narrowly lost his reelection bid to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), whose victory along with Warnock’s gave Democrats control of the U.S. Senate.

Georgia Democrats credit massive voter registration and mobilization efforts with flipping the longtime red state and ousting the two GOP senators.

The Republicans were roiled by President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn his loss of the state in the presidential race, which led to a nasty public feud with Gov. Brian Kemp and other GOP officials.

Perdue’s decision not to run could open the door to a divisive Senate run by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)