Louisville, Georgia – It may have taken Governor Brian Kemp a good half hour to get there, but during a speech at a recent election stop in this small East Georgia town, he allowed himself to acknowledge the truth about the state of his Republican primary race against former Senator David Purdue.
“I know some people get a little confident,” Kemp said. “Which worries me.”
From the room, which was full of local lights and Kemp supporters, they put sliced ham and a bright pink cake, and with the kind help of the governor, laughter was heard.
Not long ago, however, Kemp had nothing to laugh about in this race.
In December, Perdue launched a campaign for his election – backed by the full power of Donald Trump – based almost entirely on the governor’s refusal to illegally undo Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.
As MAGA people still rage over election fraud conspiracies, Georgia Republicans are preparing for a brutal cage match between two of their top politicians. The loss of Kemp was considered possible. A staunch Republican candidate running in the general election against Democrat Stacey Abrams was considered safe.
Now that the May 24 primary is approaching, this Republican royal battle has turned out to be as bitterly personal as expected.
This became clear during a debate between the two men on Sunday night, which eventually turned into a fight over the 2020 election. Purdue blamed Kemp for his and Trump’s losses – and Kemp called him “weak” because trying to avoid responsibility for his humiliating loss.
What was not expected, however, was what Kemp carefully hinted at in Louisville: the possibility of Perdue’s much-publicized challenge disappearing in shame.
No public opinion poll in the primary election found Perdue leading Kemp; a recent poll even showed that the governor is 24 points ahead. Meanwhile, the GOP organization in Georgia has largely united around Kemp, as well as legions of regular types. Kemp outperformed Perdue, and his ads attacking the former senator are ubiquitous on television screens across the state.
Trump, who is already working to meet expectations, has publicly suggested that Perdue, a former senator and CEO of the Fortune 500, is a “long-term opportunity.”
Even though he is willing to admit his advantage over Perdue with a self-deprecating joke, Kemp is nothing but sober and serious when discussing the rest of the main campaign. If he does not get more than 50 percent of the vote in May, the two Republicans will face each other in the run-off in June.
In this scenario, anything can happen – so much so that in Georgia, local politicians often joke that the first place is “cursed” in the runoff.
“If you want to argue with Brian Kemp’s file, tell me what he did wrong?” I don’t mind David Purdue. He is not the man. “
– Senator from the state of Georgia Max Burns (R)
Just ask Purdue, who lost to Democrat John Osoff in a run-off in 2021 after leading him by more than 80,000 votes after the 2020 general election. Or ask Kemp, who finished by far second in the GOP primary for governor in 2018 before winning the runoff.
“We have to run like we’re 10 points down and win 10,” Kemp told the Louisville audience. “That’s what we do.”
Kemp’s biggest advantage right now may be that Republicans in Georgia are more interested in what he has done on a number of issues – not what he hasn’t done on the only issue that seems important to Trump.
At a campaign stop in Sandersville on Thursday, Minister Brant Kennedy raised a sign for Kemp as the governor considered his actions on a number of conservative priorities, from weapons and taxes to police and agricultural policy.
Like most Trump supporters, Kennedy is upset by the 2020 election. He backs Representative Jodie Hayes (R-GA), who challenged Brad Rafensperger, a Republican secretary of state who became a villain just to protect the electoral system. the state.
But Kennedy saw no reason for Perdue to fight Kemp – and said he wanted to “put a sock” in Trump’s mouth because he kept hitting Kemp and strengthening Perdue.
“Brian Kemp was not a good governor,” Kennedy argued. “He was a great governor.”
If Kemp successfully defeats Perdue, the victory could have consequences that extend far beyond this spring’s primary election, which has become a litmus test for the future of the GOP.
On the one hand, this shows that even the most loyal Republicans are simply not making decisions based on Trump’s support or his fixation on the 2020 election – a potential benefit for Republican leaders who are urging candidates across the country to focus on governing of the economy by the Democrats. and COVID instead.
In addition, Kemp’s resilience could affect Democrats’ chances of placing Abrams at the governor’s mansion next year.
Democrats hoped to run against a Republican candidate weakened by Trump-fueled primary scandals – perhaps one of their few advantages in what would otherwise be a difficult environment for the party during the election year.
Although Trump’s attempt to overthrow Georgia’s party failed, Georgia’s Democrats still believe that the costly, confused internal brawl will eventually help Abrams.
Max Flugrat, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said Kemp was “facing an attack of brutal attacks” by Purdue and had embraced “extreme and unpopular” positions in his “struggle for his political life”.
“The intensifying struggle against the Republican Party and the four-candidate field is fueling Trump’s efforts to force Kemp into a runoff,” Flugrat said, noting that the National Republican Association of Governors has spent a lot to protect Kemp.
Many Republicans are aware that the more time and money they spend on battles, the better the chances Democrats will have. If Abrams continues to win in November, Kennedy, a supporter of Kemp, has said he will shift the blame entirely to one person: “President Trump.”
Trump’s inability to free himself from resentment against Kemp was fully demonstrated on Thursday when he issued a bitterly angry statement attacking the governor, among other things, for not doing enough to defend Marjorie Republic’s Taylor Green (R- GA). The MAGA employee is facing an attempt in court to disqualify her from the ballot. Trump concluded by saying that Kemp “will never be able to win the general election” because Republicans “will simply not vote for him.”
The statement was just the latest in a series of remarks by the former president, who never forgave Kemp for refusing to cancel the 2020 election in his state.
However, Kemp has chosen to keep Trump’s name out of his mouth.
The day before Kemp toured East Georgia on his campaign bus, news broke that a $ 500,000-funded television offensive against Kemp had been funded by Trump. Asked by The Daily Beast to respond, the governor did not mention the name of the former president.
“We can’t control this,” Kemp said of funding for Trump’s attacks. “I’m not worried about what other people are doing.”
On the stump, Kemp also avoids mentioning Perdue by name, preferring to make veiled shots that resonate the most with the local audience. For example, Kemp has repeatedly cited Purdue’s recent comments that Georgia’s state patrol is “not elite,” much to the chagrin of some Republicans and law enforcement officials.
In Louisville, Kemp said critics of the state patrol – without naming Purdue – “just don’t know what they’re talking about.” They are not in today’s world. They throw spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks. ”
Instead, Kemp remained focused on his record as governor with the urgency of someone convinced that his political achievements were his best asset in this difficult campaign – even if his stubborn determination to go through every last element means he sometimes loses the crowd.
In a restaurant on the quiet, historic Broad Street of Louisville, about 80 visitors listened to Kemp methodically deal with his victories in the just-concluded state legislature. Within 30 minutes, the governor covered legislation on mental health, state election processing, K-12 education, state income tax, agriculture, law enforcement, human trafficking and more.
Democrats are convinced that some of these bills will be politically toxic during the general election – such as one that allows firearms to be carried in public without permission – but they have strengthened Kemp’s status as a Republican base.
GOP US Senator Max Burns, who introduced the governor to the crowd, delivered Kemp’s message in a short interview with The Daily Beast.
“If you want to argue with Brian Kemp’s file, tell me what he did wrong?” Burns said. “I have nothing against David Purdue. He is not the man. “
In fact, Kemp’s terrain is a deliberate antidote to Georgia against Perdue’s campaign, which is animated almost exclusively on the issue of election fraud and Trump’s focus on the 2020 election.
Perdue’s ad, which began airing on Friday and was funded by pro-Trump forces, sought to link virtually all of the country’s current problems to Kemp, making the false claim that he “sold us out and allowed the Radicals to steal the election.” . ”
Republicans have already noted the former senator’s struggle to shift to other issues, as it is clear that Republican voters are largely reluctant to give up Kemp because of his handling of the last election.
“David Purdue seems to have been caught in the past, with no plan,” said Jason Shepard, a former GOP chairman in Cobb County, just outside of Atlanta. “His campaign is trying to run to the right of the most conservative republican governor Georgia has ever had.
This prompted Perdue to choose some unusual battles. When the electric vehicle company Rivian decided to invest billions of dollars in a new plant in Georgia, Perdue criticized Kemp for not listening to the concerns of residents near the proposed site. He also tried to cast suspicion in the GOP on the whole project through …
Add Comment