Luisville, Georgia — Governor Brian Kemp may have taken about 30 minutes to get there, but during a speech at a recent campaign outage in this small town in eastern Georgia, he talked about the Republican state. Allowed to admit the truth of. Primary contest for former Senator David Perdue.
“I know some people are a little confident,” Kemp said. “It worries me.”
In favor of the governor, laughter echoed from a room where local celebrities and Kemp supporters were pushing sliced ham and a bright pink cake.
But not so long ago, Kemp rarely laughed at this race.
During December Perdue has launched a campaign With the full power of Donald Trump, he made him primary, almost entirely based on the governor’s refusal to illegally overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.
The MAGA grassroots movement is still igniting fraudulent election plots, and Georgia Republicans prepare for a brutal cage match between two of the most prominent politicians. Kemp’s loss was seen as much as possible. A Injured Republican Candidate It was seen as certain that the Democratic Party would head for a general election against Stacey Abrams.
Now, as the May 24th primary approached, this Republican battle royale turned out to be terribly personal, as expected.
In a debate between two men on Sunday night, in the 2020 election, it ended in a terrible brawl. Purdue accused Kemp and Trump of the loss, and Kemp called him “weak” for trying to avoid accountability for the humiliating loss.
But what was unexpected was Kemp’s careful hint at Louisville. Perdue’s fuss challenge can disappear with embarrassment.
Purdue has never been a leader in Kemp in primary polls. A recent survey showed that the governor was 24 points ahead. The Georgia Republican Party, on the other hand, was largely rallying around Kemp, as is the corps of ranks and file types. Kemp blames Purdue badly, and his ads attacking former senators are ubiquitous on television screens throughout the state.
Already trying to manage expectations, Trump has publicly proposed Purdue, a former senator and CEO of the Fortune 500.It is a “long shot”.
Despite trying to recognize his advantage over Purdue with a self-deprecating joke, Kemp is calm and serious when discussing the rest of the major campaigns. If he doesn’t get more than 50% of the votes in May, the two Republicans will face each other directly in the June final vote.
What can happen in that scenario. In Georgia, local politicians often jokingly say that the number one place is “cursed” by a spill.
Ask Purdue, who lost more than 80,000 votes after the 2020 general election and then lost to Democrat John Osov in the 2021 final vote. Or ask Kemp, who finished the governor’s second distant second in the 2018 Republican primary, before winning the run-off.
“You have to run like you’re 10 points down and win 10 points,” Kemp told the Louisville audience. “That’s what we do.”
Kemp’s current biggest advantage may be that Georgian Republicans care more about him. Have He went on many issues, not what he didn’t do on the only issue that seemed important to Trump.
With the suspension of the campaign in Thundersville last Thursday, Minister Brandt Kennedy tickled action on many conservative priorities, from guns and taxes to police and agricultural policy. , I put up the signboard of the parent Kemp.
Like most Trump supporters, Kennedy is angry with the 2020 elections.He is helping Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA) challenge Republican Secretary of State Brad Rafence Purger. The person who became a villain It’s just to protect the state’s electoral system.
But Kennedy didn’t know why Purdue was against Kemp. He said he wanted to “wear socks” on Trump’s mouth to defeat Kemp and continue to boost Purdue.
“Brian Kemp was not a good governor,” Kennedy insisted. “He was a wonderful governor.”
If Kemp succeeds in defeating Purdue, the victory could have an impact that extends far beyond the Republican’s future Litmus test this spring’s primary.
For one thing, even the most devoted Republicans do not make decisions based on Trump’s support or adherence to the 2020 elections. This is a potential benefit for Republican leaders urging candidates across the country to focus on the treatment of the Democratic economy. COVID instead.
Beyond that, Kemp’s durability could impact the Democratic Party’s likelihood of placing Abrams in the Governor’s mansion next year.
Democrats were raising money to counter Republican candidates weakened by Trump-fueled primary flakers. Perhaps one of the few benefits that will make the party a harsh environment for the election year.
Although Trump’s attempts to overthrow the Georgia Republican Party have leveled off, the Democratic Party of Georgia still believes that expensive and messy internal brawls will ultimately help Abrams.
Democratic Party of Georgia spokesman Max Fullgrass said Kemp was “faced with a brutal onslaught” from Purdue, “fighting for his political life” at the extreme. Accepted the “unpopular” position.
“The intensifying Republican civil war and the four-candidate areas are fueling Trump’s efforts to drive Kemp out of control,” he said, pointing out that the Republican National Governors’ Association is spending a lot of money to protect Kemp. ..
Many Republicans are well aware that the more time and money they spend fighting, the more likely they are to have Democrats. If Abrams wins in November, Kemp support minister Kennedy said he would hold one person, “President Trump,” head-on.
Pastor who does not succumb to Georgia’s new voting restrictions
Trump’s failure to let go of his grudge against Kemp on Thursday is fiercely attacking the governor, including not doing enough to protect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). It was fully displayed when the angry statement was issued. MAGA’s acolyte faces her efforts in court to disqualify her from her ballot. Mr. Trump concludes by saying that Republicans “will not vote for him” and Mr. Kemp will “never win the general election.”
This statement was the latest in a number of Broadsides from the former president who never allowed Kemp to refuse to overturn the 2020 state elections.
However, Kemp chose not to mention Trump’s name.
The day before Kemp toured eastern Georgia on a campaign bus, news was reported that TV ads were offensive to Kemp. Was funded by Trump, To $ 500,000. The Daily Beast asked for a response, but the governor did not mention the name of the former president.
“We have no control over it,” Kemp said of funding Trump’s attack. “I’m not worried about what others are doing.”
On stumps, Kemp also avoids mentioning Purdue by name and prefers to take veiled shots that most resonate with the local audience.For example, Kemp See Perdue’s recent comments repeatedly The Georgia patrol was “not an elite,” which offended some Republicans and law enforcement members.
In Louisville, Kemp said a critic of the state patrol who did not name Purdue said, “I don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re not in the world today. They throw spaghetti on the wall. , I’m watching what sticks together. “
Instead, Kemp continues to focus on his record as governor and is convinced of someone’s urgency that the outcome of his policy is his greatest asset in this tough campaign.
Approximately 80 attendees listened while Kemp systematically experienced a victory from the just-finished state legislature at a restaurant on the quiet and historic Broad Street of Louisville. Within 30 minutes, the governor covered mental health laws, state election redo, kindergarten-to-high school education, state income tax, agriculture, law enforcement, and human trafficking.
Democrats are convinced that some of these bills are politically toxic in the general election. For example, a bill allowing unauthorized carrying of firearms in public places has strengthened Kemp’s position at Republican bases.
Republican senator Max Burns, who introduced the governor to the crowd, summarized Kemp’s message in a brief interview with The Daily Beast.
“If you want to discuss Brian Kemp’s record, tell me what he made a mistake,” Burns said. “I don’t object to David Padew. He’s not a man.”
Indeed, Kemp’s marketing is a deliberate Georgia-focused antidote to Purdue’s campaign, animated solely on the issue of fraudulent elections and Trump’s focus on the 2020 elections.
Purdue’s ad, which began running on Friday and was funded by the pro-Trump army, is effectively by making the false claim that he “sold us off and allowed militants to steal elections.” I tried to connect the current problems of all countries to Kemp. “
Republicans have already pointed out that former senators are having a hard time refocusing on other issues.
Jason Sheppard, a former Republican president of Cobb County on the outskirts of Atlanta, said: “His campaign is about to hit the right of the most conservative Republican governor Georgia has ever experienced.”
It urged Perdue to choose some unusual battles. When electric car company Rivian decided to invest billions of dollars in a new plant in Georgia Purdue criticized Kemp It is alleged that he did not listen to the concerns of residents near the proposed location. He also sought to cast suspicion on the Republican Party throughout the project, noting that liberal financier George Soros was a Rivian investor.
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Charles Brock, a longtime professor of political science at the University of Georgia, said the series of attacks was “almost hopeless.”
According to Brock, the weakness of the pitch focused on Purdue’s 2020 elections “forced Purdue to take an anti-Republican position … most people in Georgia generally work. I’m in favor of what brings. “
There is one individual who is pleased that Kemp is repeatedly mentioned by name at all stops: Abrams. Although she lost to Kemp in 2018, the race and the work of Abrams, who registered voters in 2020, are believed to be essential to the recent Democratic victory in Georgia. And now she is running for governor again.
Perdue’s campaign material is centered around Abrams, but Kemp claims that it doesn’t take the primary for granted, but it also has ads promoting Abrams. In Louisville, Kemp admitted that he was “definitely” running two campaigns at the same time. “”
“We have to beat the primary,” Kemp said. “I have a record of doing that, but I also have a record of defeating Stacey Abrams in November. Primary voters need to understand that. They are candidates I can defeat Stacey Abrams. You need to understand that there is. “
However, Republicans emphasize that they support whatever they undertake Abrams. Some believed Perdue was a weak candidate, pointed out that he had lost to Ossoff, and said he was reporting on him. Stock trading activities by The Daily Beast And other outlets.Recent votes for the race Backed up that feelingKemp is far superior to Purdue in a fictitious face-to-face confrontation with Abrams, but both have an advantage over the Democratic Party.
Virtually every Republican who spoke to The Daily Beast expressed disappointment even with this primary happening as such a ripe mid-term environment was being shaped for the GOP.
Last week, I met Kemp in Thundersville with Mitch Shepherd, a self-proclaimed “conservative Republican” who works in the truck business. He said he was “a little disappointed” that Purdue decided to run.
“The focus now should be on defeating the Democrats. I don’t want to go through the primary,” Shepherd said. “Personally, I think the Trump effect is gone for many.”
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