Georgia Republicans brace for ‘wild and woolly’ Kemp, Perdue 2022 showdown
Republicans in two of Georgia’s largest cities are bracing for a contentious 2022 primary race for governor.
Incumbent Brian Kemp faces a challenge from former U.S. Senator David Perdue. Perdue, who lost his Senate seat in a runoff to Jon Ossoff earlier this year, enters the race with the backing of Donald Trump. The former president, angered by his 2020 loss, seeks to play GOP kingmaker and eliminate Kemp for refusing to illegally overturn the results.
The winner would likely face Democrat Stacey Abrams in the general election.
Perdue officially announced his candidacy Monday, and the two Georgia Republicans have traded verbal barbs in the days that followed.
While some Republicans in Columbus and Macon say the primary will be hotly contested, they remain optimistic that party voters will unite behind the chosen candidate. Abrams, they said, is a polarizing figure who will bring Republican voters out in force to oppose her.
Alton Russell, Chair of the Muscogee County Republican Party
Muscogee GOP chair Alton Russell said he and the county party would not endorse Kemp or Perdue until one emerges from the primary.
Russell highlighted the changes in the Republican landscape over the last several months. Perdue had ruled out a Senate bid to challenge Democrat Raphael Warnock and even introduced Kemp during the Georgia GOP’s convention in June in a show of party unity.
It was the support and insistence from Trump that likely got Perdue in the race, Russell added.
“It’s going to be a wild and woolly primary,” Russell said. “It’s probably going to get pretty nasty.”
Russell isn’t concerned that a contentious primary might harm the Republican candidate in a general election against a Democratic opponent — likely Abrams. Perdue’s entrance into the race will create interest and bring Republican voters out in the primary. That momentum could carry over to the general election, he said.
“It’d be a disaster for Stacey Abrams to be governor,” Russell said.
Joseph Brannan, Treasurer of the Georgia Republican Party
Joseph Brannan, a Columbus resident who serves as the treasurer of the Georgia Republican Party, said he is neutral, offering support for neither Kemp or Perdue until the primary ends.
The question now is will Trump’s endorsement be enough to get Perdue over the top, Brannan said. Without the former president’s name on the ballot, Republican voters didn’t turn out in the January U.S. Senate runoffs.
Some Republicans attributed the party’s defeat to the election fraud claims pushed by Trump and others.
“Trump’s presence looms large in the Georgia Republican primary electorate,” he said. “Are there hardcore Trump supporters who just won’t show up (in November) because he isn’t on the ballot?”
Brannan said he sees similarities in the 2022 GOP primary to Perdue’s 2014 Senate bid. In the race, Perdue faced then-U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, a well-established Republican, in a contentious runoff to replace the retiring Saxby Chambliss. Perdue went on to win the race.
But even that race is not quite the same as 2022 is shaping up to be, Brannan said.
“(Kemp) has a huge campaign war chest,” he said. “It’s going to be wildly different because of Kemp’s incumbency.”
Like Russell, Brannan said Republican voters will rally around whoever emerges from the primary to stop Abrams.
“It’s going to be a bruising campaign,” he said. “But I think in the end, Stacey Abrams will galvanize Republicans in a united front.”
David Sumrall, Chair of the Macon-Bibb County Republican Party
David Sumrall, Macon-Bibb County’s GOP chair, said he’s not concerned that a possible showdown between Kemp and Perdue would hurt the Republican Party in the general election.
Kemp and Perdue are among several Republicans seeking the party’s nomination. Others include former State Rep. Vernon Jones and educator Kandiss Taylor.
“We have two proven statewide winners in the Governor’s race and some other interesting candidates,” Sumrall said. “When we have a nominee, he or she will be battle-tested, and the Bibb GOP will get behind whoever the majority of our Republican voters nominate.”
Sumrall added that he was confident the Republican candidate could defeat Stacey Abrams.
“Abrams cost us the MLB All-Star Game and is supporting an administration causing inflation, lawlessness on our border and in our cities, unconstitutional mandates and shutdowns, and international embarrassment and weakness. If voters vote the issues, Georgia will stay red,” he said.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 12:20 PM.