Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who served as former President Donald Trump’s verbal punching bag following the 2020 election, has pulled significantly ahead of a Trump-backed candidate, according to a new statewide poll.
The survey, which involved 886 likely GOP primary voters, showed that the Republican incumbent has a wide lead over former Sen. David Perdue and could put the governor above the majority-vote threshold needed to avoid a June runoff.
Kemp led Perdue 53% to 27% in a poll of likely voters in the May 24 Republican primary. The poll, conducted April 10-22 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs on behalf of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
Trump made it a priority to oust Kemp for refusing to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results. Trump vowed to get revenge and has thrown his political weight behind Perdue.
Perdue only outpolled Kemp among voters who said a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to vote for a candidate, according to the UGA findings. However, a majority of the respondents said Trump’s seal of approval made no difference or made them less likely to back a contender.
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Of those polled, 71% gave Kemp a positive review, compared with 21% who viewed him unfavorably. By contrast, 57% of likely GOP voters had a favorable view of Perdue, while nearly one-third had a negative image of him.
Perdue launched his campaign in December to challenge the sitting governor. He did so almost entirely on the claim that Kemp refused to overturn election results that would have given Trump the win. Trump has repeatedly raked Kemp over the coals for his decision, claiming he turned his back on his party and the country. Most recently, Trump’s political action committee gave $500,000 to a group running attack ads against Kemp.
The Republican candidates duked it out on Sunday night in a one-hour televised debate that devolved into mudslinging.
Perdue, who lost a 2021 Senate runoff election against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, blamed Kemp directly for the defeat. Kemp called Perdue “weak” and chastised him for trying to avoid accountability.
At his campaign rallies, Perdue has blamed inflation, high gas prices, immigration, and American deaths in Afghanistan on Kemp’s failure to block Democrats from winning the state.
He has also warned that only he could bring Trump supporters to the ballot box in November to beat Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams.
“You can’t win the presidency, a Republican can’t win, without Georgia,” Perdue said. “And if Stacey Abrams wins the governor’s job, no Republican’s going to win this state for president. Trust me.”
Kemp said he, too, is focused on Abrams, the “real opponent.”
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“I’m the best candidate to beat her in November, and conservatives across the state realize that,” he said.
