Former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) is set to announce his bid challenging Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) this week, marking a GOP primary clash in the battleground state amid former President Trump’s revenge tour against Kemp.
According to Politico, Perdue, who was tapped by Trump to run against Kemp, plans to announce his gubernatorial campaign on Monday via video and file his paperwork at the same time.
Additionally, Perdue has discussed getting additional fundraising and endorsement support from Trump, which sources told Politico is forthcoming.
Trump’s reported recruitment of Perdue to challenge Kemp is among the former president’s efforts to have the Georgia governor face retribution for supposed insufficient loyalty to him. Kemp refused to play along with Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election.
Republicans in Georgia have reportedly been expecting Perdue, a Trump ally who lost re-election to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), to run against Kemp in next year’s primary.
Signs of the mudslinging between Perdue and Kemp have already begun, with Kemp’s campaign spokesperson, Cody Hall, issuing a blistering statement slamming Perdue to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday.
“Perdue’s only reason for running is to sooth his own bruised ego, because his campaign for U.S. Senate failed to inspire voters at the ballot box — twice,” Hall said. “Governor Kemp has a proven track record of fighting the radical left to put hardworking Georgians first, while Perdue is best known for ducking debates, padding his stock portfolio during a pandemic, and losing winnable races.”
The winner of next year’s GOP primary would challenge Democrat Stacey Abrams, who would possibly face a rematch against Kemp after he narrowly defeated her in the battleground state in 2018.
Abrams’ top aide, Lauren Groh-Wargo, signaled that Abrams isn’t fazed by the clash between Perdue and Kemp. Last week, the Georgia governor told reporters in the state that Perdue told him he wasn’t planning to jump into the GOP primary, saying that he hopes Perdue will be “a man of his word” — it now appears that Perdue has changed his mind.
