- David Purdue is fighting Georgia’s incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp in the May 24 primary.
- Trump has suggested that MAGA world could stay at home in November if Perdue loses.
- MAGA voters denounced Kemp as a “Judas”, a “traitor” and a “liar”.
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Augusta, Georgia – Republicans in Georgia, still in the run-up to the 2020 presidential race, say they would prefer to abstain in November if Trump’s candidate, former Sen. David Purdue, loses the upcoming Republican gubernatorial primary. than ever before, backed current Gov. Brian Kemp.
Hostility to Kemp, described by several MAGA Republicans as “Judas” and a “traitor” to attest to Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, is unlikely to affect the outcome of the May 24 primary. But that could hurt Kemp’s chances this fall in an expected rematch with the alleged Democratic nomination of Stacey Abrams, the woman he narrowly defeated in 2018 – with Trump’s support.
“I don’t want Stacey Abrams. But I don’t think I can vote for Brian Camp, “a 27-year-old Gordon County resident told Insider, who declined to give his name at the Bikers for Trump rally an hour north of Atlanta.
The local Republican, who accused Kemp of “overturning and leaving the country to be crucified” in the last election, said he planned to vote for Purdue on Tuesday because the Trump-approved former Georgia senator promised to keep everyone involved. A “counterfeit and stolen” presidential contest is responsible if elected.
Earlier in the day, an 81-year-old Georgian man who said he had voted for a Republican since 1964 could not even be persuaded to say Kemp’s name or Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger’s.
“I would not vote for any of them. They are not Republicans. They are liars, “said David, who declined to give his last name at the May 20 Perdue event at a rural airport. He added that Kemp and Rafensperger “brought Trump into Georgia” by not examining the results of the former president’s impeachment twice.
Kemp and Rafensperger conducted an nationwide audit and oversaw the recount of more than 5 million Georgian votes in the 2020 presidential election. Biden defeated Trump there by about 12,000 votes.
Amy Steigerwalt, a professor of political science at Georgia State University, said the 2020 race was over for all but the truest locals. “Most voters know that all the censuses and audits have shown that the election was fair and transparent and that there is no evidence of fraud or abuse,” she told Insider.
However, Trump mentioned the possibility of his supporters being absent from the gubernatorial race earlier this month. CNN reported that he said “many Republicans simply will not vote for Kemp” during a call rally he held for Perdue.
David Purdue supporter Robert Weinger raises his personalized driver at a campaign event in August, Georgia, Friday, May 20th. Warren Rojas / Insider
That prediction is closer to reality as Purdue, who rejects recent polls showing Kemp has a 30-point lead ahead of Tuesday’s primary, continues to try to get Republican voters to vote.
“I encourage everyone who is concerned about the future of our country and our country to come out and vote – whatever country you are in,” he told supporters on Friday, adding: “If you do not vote, it is absolutely vote for the other side.”
Whatever the outcome on Tuesday, Perdue rally participant Robert Weinger, 70, said it was decided for November.
“I will not vote for Governor Kemp,” he said, dismissing scenarios of darkness and doom for Abrams, which the state is carrying this fall.
“Anyone can beat Stacey Abrams,” Weinger said. “She’s a fraud.”
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