Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp won his party’s primary on Tuesday against a rival backed by Donald Trump, marking the former U.S. president’s biggest defeat to date in his bid to play King before the November midterm elections.
Kemp and Democratic rival Stacey Abrams will face off once again in a rematch of the 2018 race that will likely be one of the most expensive and closely watched in the country.
Kemp easily rejected a Republican primary challenge Tuesday by former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, who was backed by Trump as retribution because Kemp did not continue Trump’s effort to undo his defeat in the 2020 Georgia elections.
Perdue accepted Trump’s electoral lies, and opened two debates among the candidates with the claim that the 2020 vote was “manipulated and stolen.” Election officials found no evidence of fraud after multiple reviews.
In defeat, he achieved a unifying tone that has become increasingly rare in a Republican Party dominated by Trump’s harsh tactics.
“I want you to know tonight that I’m supporting Brian Kemp in his career to beat Stacey Abrams,” Perdue said. “It’s emotional for all of us, we’re disappointed, I understand. We take a few hours, lick our wounds, and tomorrow morning you’ll hear I’m going to work for Brian Kemp to make sure Stacey Abrams is never governor of Georgia “.
The Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, is seen. Abrams and Kemp will face off in a rematch in November. (Brynn Anderson / The Associated Press)
Increasingly favored Republicans
Georgia voters were still waiting to see if Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also resisted Trump’s bid to oust him.
In all, five states voted Tuesday, including Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Minnesota. But none had been more consumed than Georgia by Trump and his lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
The political environment has become increasingly favorable to Republicans ahead of the November legislatures. According to a Reuters / Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 36 percent, the lowest level of his presidency, reflecting voters’ concern about the increase in inflation.
Republicans are favored to win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in November, though analysts say Democrats are more likely to stay in control of the Senate.
The loss of any of the chambers would stop Biden’s legislative agenda and give Republicans the power to initiate distracting and potentially politically damaging investigations.
Raffensperger, who rejected a Trump petition in 2020 to “find” enough votes to alter the outcome, faces U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who won Trump’s support and echoed his allegations of fraud, in a career that polls suggest is tight.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is speaking at a news conference on November 11, 2020. Raffensperger was also trying to survive a Trump bid on Tuesday to see him fired. (Brynn Anderson / The Associated Press)
Trump has made more than 190 approvals since leaving office, mostly for incumbent Republicans who do not face serious primary opposition.
He has amassed a mixed record in competitive competitions. His U.S. Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, television presenter Dr. Mehmet Oz, is in a race still too close to call it a week after the vote.
But his favorite Senate candidate in Georgia, Herschel Walker, easily won the Republican nomination despite warnings from Republican walker contestants about his history of domestic violence and mental health struggles. In the fall, he will face current Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a race that could determine control of the House.
Other races
Democrats focused especially on a run-off election in South Texas, where incumbent Henry Cuellar faced a fierce challenge from progressive Jessica Cisneros in a race where abortion was a prominent issue. Cuellar is the latest anti-abortion Democrat to serve in the House.
Republicans were deciding on a series of primaries that featured some of their most controversial figures.
In Alabama, Conservative Rep. Mo Brooks was running to represent Republicans in the race to replace retired Sen. Richard Shelby. Brooks, a prominent figure in the January 6 “Stop the Steal” demonstration that preceded the Capitol attack, was initially endorsed by Trump, although Trump fired him after seeing Brooks fight in the surveys.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks talks to the media after voting in Alabama’s state primary on Tuesday. (Vasha Hunt / The Associated Press)
Trump’s main ally, MP Marjorie Taylor Greene, won her primary election in the 14th district of the state Congress, despite a prominent first term for her conspiracy theories and controversy.
And former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, who was the face of an administration that contributed to the nation’s strong division, won the Republican governor’s nomination in Arkansas.
On the Democratic side of Georgia, two incumbents in Congress, MPs Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux, clashed over each other in the suburbs of Atlanta, forced to an infrequent primary between incumbents and incumbents after Republicans redesigned. the map of Congress.