Georgia Governor Brian Kemp defeats David Perdue in GOP primary

Former US President Donald Trump’s crusade for vengeance suffered two devastating blows after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won their primaries on Tuesday despite rejecting Trump’s entreaties to reverse his 2020 election loss.

It can be seen as a huge warning sign for the way Republican voters view the former president’s crusade to punish those who were not willing to overturn the will of the voters in 2020.

Also read: 2022 midterms: What to watch in Georgia, Texas, elsewhere

Kemp easily turned back a GOP primary challenge on Tuesday from former US Sen. David Perdue, who was backed by former President Donald Trump as retribution for Kemp not going along with Trump’s effort to overturn his defeat in Georgia’s 2020 election.

Perdue embraced Trump’s election lies, opening two debates between the candidates with the claim that the 2020 balloting was “rigged and stolen.” Georgia election officials found no evidence of fraud.

Also read: Who is Brian Kemp?

The presidential vote was counted three times, with each tally confirming Democratic President Joe Biden’s win.

Kemp, in his victory speech said conservatives “didn’t listen to the noise.”

“They didn’t get distracted,” Kemp said. “They knew our record of fighting and winning for hardworking Georgians and tonight because of your support, Georgia Republicans went to the ballot box and overwhelmingly endorsed four more years of our vision for this great state.”

Also read: Brian Kemp or David Perdue? Georgia may be en route to runoff elections

The incumbent continued to swing the spotlight to his quest to defeat Abrams, who told reporters that she is ready to take on Kemp and wants to talk about the governor’s failures.

“Four years ago, I warned about the failure that Kemp was going to be. And four years later I am going to prove he was the wrong choice for Georgia,” Abrams said earlier Tuesday.

Also read: US primaries: In Georgia, a proxy war between Trump and Pence

Kemp, in turn, was quick to cast a potential Abrams victory as a looming disaster for Georgia, saying Abrams was out of step with Georgia voters and that the contest would be a “fight for the soul of our state.”

Abrams narrowly lost the governorship to Kemp in 2018 but became a leading national Democratic voice as a voting rights activist. She also cast the rematch as a stark choice, saying she was seeking to improve problems including a lack of health care, poor education and lagging wages.