Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp easily sent Donald Trump’s hand-picked rival to a Republican primary on Tuesday that demonstrated the former president’s limits and his conspiracy-fueled policy in a critical state of change.
Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams this fall in what will be one of the most important governorship races in the country.
The results, combined with the loss of the Trump-backed candidate for secretary of state, served as a rebuke for the former president in a race that prioritized almost all others. Angered by Kemp’s refusal to pursue his extraordinary effort to overturn the results of the 2020 elections in Georgia, Trump personally recruited former Sen. David Perdue to challenge the incumbent governor. He also helped clean up the main camp and spent more than $ 3 million on the failed effort.
But eventually Kemp emerged as a powerful candidate capable of getting prolific fundraising totals that helped him flood Georgia with television and other commercials. He took advantage of the power of his office to show voters what he could do for them, presenting a $ 5.5 billion Hyundai Motor plant and 8,100 jobs near Savannah in the final days of the campaign.
Conservatives “not distracted”
“Even in the midst of tough primaries, conservatives across our state did not hear the noise. They were not distracted,” Kemp told his supporters, before asking his party to unite behind the your campaign.
In defeat, Perdue 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)
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.
Trump failed 4 times in Georgia
Altogether, Trump did not replace the four Republican incumbents he pointed to in the state, including the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who refused to support the former president’s direct calls to cancel the 2020 election, defeated the election of Trump MP Jody Hice.
Georgia’s losses become the latest examples of a major setback for Trump’s favorite candidates, who have lost governorship careers in Idaho and Nebraska. A Pennsylvania Senate primary is too close to be called a week after the election.
Still, all of Tuesday’s contests highlighted the sustained power of Trumpism in Republican politics 18 months after he was voted to oust him. His favorite candidate for the Senate in Georgia, Herschel Walker, easily won the GOP nomination despite warnings from Republican competitors of Walker 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.
Regardless of Trump’s involvement in their careers, virtually every Republican candidate, even Kemp, ran with “electoral integrity.” This phrase has emerged as a code for the former president’s unfounded complaints about the 2020 elections, which were flatly rejected by the courts and his own attorney general. Georgia’s Conservative candidates in Arkansas and Texas also leaned toward Trump’s favorite cultural wars, highlighting concerns about transgender athletes, “critical race theory,” and illegal immigration.
Increasingly willing to challenge Trump
However, with Kemp’s strength in Georgia, other prominent Republicans had become increasingly willing to challenge the former president.
Trump Vice President Mike Pence himself met with Kemp in the Atlanta suburbs Monday evening. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also campaigned for Kemp and has been critical of Trump, called his victory “huge.”
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)
“I’m very proud and happy for my friend, and it’s just as important to the Georgia GOP and the people of Georgia,” Christie tweeted. “They were not going to expel a great governor or be a volunteer participant in the DJT Vendetta Tour.”
Other races
Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats elsewhere were navigating challenging primaries.
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.
In Alabama, Conservative MP Mo Brooks and Katie Britt advanced to a second round in June to represent the GOP in the race to replace retired Sen. Richard Shelby. Britt served as Shelby’s former chief of staff, while Brooks, a prominent figure in the January 6 “Stop the Steal” demonstration that preceded the Capitol attack, was initially endorsed by Trump. Trump revoked his support after seeing Brooks fight in the polls.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks talks to the media after voting in Alabama’s state primary on Tuesday. (Vasha Hunt / The Associated Press)
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.
Marjorie Taylor Greene wins her primaries
Back in Georgia, Democrat Lucy McBath defeated Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in the suburbs of Atlanta after being forced into a rare primary between Republicans and Republicans after Republicans drew the map of Congress. . McBath, whose son was killed, has become an advocate for gun control.
Not far away, in the 14th district of the Georgia Congress, Trump’s main ally, MP Marjorie Taylor Greene, won her primary election, despite a prominent first term for her conspiracy theories and controversy.
Tuesday marked the first election in Georgia under a new Republican-backed state legislature-approved voting law in response to Trump’s complaints. The changes made it harder to vote by mail, which was popular among Democrats in 2020 amid the pandemic; introduced new voter identification requirements that critics warned could deprive black voters; and extended early voting to rural areas where Republicans usually vote.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks to the media Tuesday in Rome, Ga. (Daniel Varnado / Atlanta Journal-Constitution / The Associated Press)
The new law also banned the distribution of food or water within 150 feet (about 45 meters) of a polling station, a common practice in urban areas where there are usually long queues of voters.
Despite concerns about the impact of the law, there were no major system-wide problems in Georgia. There were sporadic reports of polling stations open late, minor equipment problems and some voters were in the wrong place.
In the Atlanta suburb of Woodstock, surveyor Nathan Johnston, 42, said he had voted for Kemp for his leadership for “about four difficult years.”
“We didn’t stay locked up any longer than we had to and we worked during the pandemic, and the economy is going pretty well, so I think that’s well reflected in it,” he said.