Republican infighting in Georgia is escalating as former Sen. David Perdue considers mounting a primary challenge against Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
In a local radio interview, Perdue blamed onetime ally Kemp for President Joe Biden’s win over former President Donald Trump in Georgia last November. It was the first defeat for a Republican presidential nominee in the Peach State since 1992. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, also under fire by some Republicans for the outcome in 2020, responded on Twitter with a scathing post that lampooned Perdue for losing his reelection bid to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
“Reminder to all conservative voters paying attention — @perduesenate couldn’t beat Jon Ossoff in 2020 using this same rhetoric. As a result [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer is now in charge. Thanks!” Duncan said in a Wednesday tweet.
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Perdue announced earlier this year that he would not run for Senate in 2022. Businessman and former professional football player Herschel Walker, endorsed by Trump, is the favorite to win the Republican primary and face Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in the general election. Warnock won a special election to finish the remainder of former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term that was held the same day as the Perdue-Ossoff contest.
Republicans presumed Perdue was finished with politics after losing his bid for a second term. But lately, the wealthy career CEO has engaged in a quiet listening tour, talking with Georgia Republicans across the state about running against Kemp. Trump has vowed to oust Kemp in the primary and is actively recruiting candidates to run against him — and Perdue is the sort of prominent Republican he is looking for.
On Wednesday, Perdue did not mention Kemp by name but suggested in remarks to WDUN that he is interested in challenging the incumbent, saying the governor is to blame for Trump’s loss to Biden in Georgia last year — and for the divisions roiling the Georgia Republican Party. The former senator did not provide specifics about his timeline for deciding whether to launch a gubernatorial bid or detail his consideration process.
Perdue said simply that he and his wife are praying about it.
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“We have a divided party in Georgia right now. Forget about me — it’s divided,” he said. “A lot of people feel like that people in power haven’t fought for them and caved into a lot of things back in 2020 that didn’t have to be done, and so there’s a lot of talk about it [and] a lot of rumor about it.”
“I’m concerned about the state of our state,” Perdue added.
