Sources close to former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., yesterday confirmed to InsiderAdvantage that he is scheduled to announce at 9:30 a.m. today that he will run for governor in the May Republican primary against Gov. Brian Kemp.
The only other announced GOP gubernatorial candidate is Democrat-turned Republican former state Rep. Vernon Jones, a pro-Trump candidate (although former President Donald Trump has declined to endorse him). Jones fired off an angry Sunday media release saying that he’s staying in the race. But the former president has already publicly said that he hoped Perdue would run against Kemp, and his expected endorsement of the former senator will highly resonate with Georgia’s GOP voter base.
For over a year Trump has blasted the governor for not conducting a statewide forensic audit of the November presidential election results and for refusing to call a special session of the Legislature in late 2020 to pass election reform laws before the Jan. 5th senatorial runoff, which incumbent Perdue barely lost.
Yesterday, Kemp communications director Cody Hall attacked Perdue, claiming that his “only reason for running is to soothe his own bruised ego.” Kemp laments that Perdue promised to support him but is now going back on his word.
While many Republicans fear a divided party going into the November general election no matter who their governor nominee is, many on the political center-right believe the Perdue announcement will be a blessing. Says one prominent GOP lawmaker: “Both Perdue and Kemp are going to have to explain to the electorate why they would be the best candidate to defeat radical Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. But here’s the bottom line: A Republican governor candidate cannot win the general without a united base— and that includes the Trumpers.”
