Trump brings his anti-Kemp campaign to Georgia
Trump used much of his remarks to tout his term in the White House and falsehoods about his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. When his attention shifted to Georgia candidates, he mostly doted on Perdue’s attempt to oust Kemp.
”If Brian Kemp is renominated, he will go down in flames at the ballot box,” said Trump.
Perdue, meanwhile, returned the favor. He said for the first time this past week that he also was the victim of a “stolen” election when he lost the January 2021 runoff to Democrat Jon Ossoff. And at Saturday’s rally, he unveiled sharper attacks on Kemp.
“In the state of Georgia, thanks to Brian Kemp, in 2020 our elections were absolutely stolen,” Perdue said, adding that he would make sure that “whoever was responsible goes to jail” if he’s elected.
Chants of “lock him up!” directed at Kemp broke out, as Perdue smiled and flashed a thumbs-up sign.
March 26, 2022 Commerce – David Perdue speaks during a rally for Georgia GOP candidates at Banks County Dragway in Commerce on Saturday, March 26, 2022. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
March 26, 2022 Commerce – David Perdue speaks during a rally for Georgia GOP candidates at Banks County Dragway in Commerce on Saturday, March 26, 2022. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
With hefty leads in recent polls, Kemp has hardly uttered Perdue‘s name in recent days. His spokesman Cody Hall issued a statement saying that Kemp “is focused on making sure Stacey Abrams is never our governor or the next president.”
The election wasn’t stolen. Three separate tallies of the state’s roughly 5 million ballots upheld Biden’s narrow victory, court challenges by Trump allies were squashed, and bipartisan election officials have vouched for the results.
An audit of absentee ballot signatures in Cobb County found no cases of fraud. Perdue previously didn’t argue his election was “stolen” — in fact, he conceded to Ossoff shortly after the Jan. 5, 2021, runoff.
Other candidates boasted of their close ties to Trump and nodded to Georgia’s role as the most important test of the former president’s influence in the nation.
“This 2020 cycle is so important because it will set the stage for 2024,” said Burt Jones, Trump’s pick for lieutenant governor. “If we don’t have a red wave, it doesn’t play well for us to put Donald Trump in the White House in 2024, but I think we’ve going to have a red wave.”
Former Democrat Vernon Jones, endorsed by Trump for a U.S. House seat to get him to quit the governor’s race, talked of the former president in almost mythical terms.
“I hear them talking about a no-fly zone in Ukraine,” said the ex-state legislator, who switched parties last year. “Let me tell you something: Donald Trump is the no-fly zone.”
March 26, 2022 Commerce – Former former President Donald Trump enters the stage with his hats during a rally for Georgia GOP candidates at Banks County Dragway in Commerce on Saturday, March 26, 2022. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN /…
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