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As he seeks to oust Republican Gov. Brian Kemp from Georgia, former President Donald Trump is working hard to step up the campaign of former Sen. David Purdue, whom he backed late last year, a day after Purdue launched a major challenge against the governor.
“He is an extraordinary man,” Trump said during a televised rally with Perdue in early May, when early voting began. “Vote for David Purdue. He will be a great governor.”
The former president reiterated that Purdue was “the only candidate who can win” Stacey Abrams, who does not oppose the primary election for governor of the Democratic Party. Trump accused Kemp of being a “terrible RINO” (named Republican only) and said Republican voters “would not vote for Kemp” in the general election if he won the primary election for Republican governor.
Trump’s political team told Fox News that the former president will hold another televised rally with Perdue on the eve of Georgia’s primary election on Tuesday. Trump also took part in Perdue campaign commercials covering Georgia and held a rally with the former senator in late March.
Former President Donald Trump shakes hands with former Senator David Purdue, who is a major challenge against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, at the former President’s rally in Cumming, Georgia on March 26, 2022 (David Purdue’s campaign)
Trump, who has been ousted from the White House for 16 months, remains the most popular and influential voice in the Republican Party as he continues to make dozens of ups and downs in this year’s primary and repeatedly flirts with another presidential candidate in 2024. The full judicial press for Perdue does not seem to have intensified the former senator’s campaign enough to overthrow Kemp.
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A study by Fox News in Georgia, published this week, is the latest to show that Kemp has a very big advantage over the Trump-backed contender. According to a poll conducted on May 12-16 and published on Wednesday night, the governor has a huge lead of 60% -28% over Perdue among the likely primary GOP voters in Peach State.
The poll shows Trump remains very popular with Republicans in Georgia – with 78% favor – but only 37% of Republican voters said support for the former Perdue president made them more likely to support the former senator, with six out of ten saying that Trump’s support had no effect or made them more likely to be less supportive of Perdue.
Nearly two-thirds of those polled said it was crucial for the Republican presidential candidate to win in November, while only a quarter said it was crucial for the nominee to be a strong supporter of Trump.
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Despite Trump’s continued influence, most political strategists say it is difficult to bring down a re-elected incumbent governor.
“It’s important to hold office,” Georgia-based Conservative talk show host and nationally known political blogger Eric Erickson told Fox News.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp takes selfies with supporters on the campaign trail in Blakely, Georgia on April 20, 2022 (Brian Kemp re-election campaign)
In Idaho, Trump backed far-right Lieutenant Janice McGitchin, who was the most famous of the seven major contenders fighting against incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little. The governor easily shattered the ground in Tuesday’s primary election, winning a re-nomination.
And a week earlier, Charles Herbster, the candidate Trump backed and rallied on his behalf for the Republican governor of Nebraska, was ousted by Jim Pilen, who was backed by a limited term and outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts.
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In Georgia, Kemp is making the most of his power in office, spending the last six weeks demonstrating his many victories and achievements in the recently concluded legislative session. And in a Fox News poll, Kemp has a 72% favorable rating among GOP voters, compared to 56% for Perdue.
“Voters already know these guys. “They don’t need Trump’s word to vouch for one of these candidates because they know them,” Erickson said. “Taking office is really more important than Trump.”
Erickson noted that on Friday, as Perdue is scheduled to host an event in Savannah with 2008 GOP Vice Presidential nominee and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to show support for his campaign, “Kemp will announce the launch of the nation ‘s largest battery for electric vehicles facility, with Hyundai’ at an event nearby.
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Four years ago, with Trump’s support, Kemp defeated Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party who became a nationally known proponent of electoral reform to win the governorship. But Kemp won Trump’s wrath in late 2020 after attending the close victory of incumbent President Biden in Georgia in the presidential election after two counts.
Trump, who unsuccessfully called on the governor and other senior Republicans in the state to overturn the results, returned to Georgia last fall and again in late March to campaign against Kemp.
And Perdue made Kemp’s actions in the 2020 election a major theme of his campaign, as he supported Trump’s constant attempts to challenge his election loss again. He has accused many times that Kemp “sold” us.
But Erickson said most Republicans in Georgia, although still angry about 2020, “have absolutely moved forward … they are ready to move forward.”
Pedu is far from the only politician approved by Trump in Georgia this year. He also supported former football star Herschel Walker in the Senate primary, and also served in the Republican primary for vice governor, secretary of state and several congressional contests. But the large number of approvals could work against Trump.
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Chip Lake, a veteran consultant to the Republican Party in Georgia, stressed that while the former president remains very popular among Peach Republicans, Trump has approved so many candidates that he is blurring other approvals.
He added that the numerous approvals could be confusing for “the average Republican voter, even one who loves Donald Trump.”
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