In case there was any doubt about what his primary challenge to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is all about, former senator David Perdue erased it with the first few words out of his mouth.
“First off, let me be very clear tonight: The election in 2020 was rigged and stolen,” Perdue said this weekend. At their first debate, the two spent what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution clocked as 23 minutes arguing about Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him — including in Georgia, supposedly with Kemp’s help.
Perdue’s turn as a voter-fraud crusader remains awkward. While seeking reelection in a January 2021 runoff, Perdue checked the necessary boxes to make sure Trump didn’t pull the rug out from under his and fellow Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s (R-Ga.) campaigns. Both signed a letter calling for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to resign and said they would object to the election results on Jan. 6. Both lost, regardless.
But Perdue was hardly a voter-fraud crusader. While others went on Fox News and echoed Trump’s claims, Perdue spoke mostly about supposed “irregularities” — a fallback for many a Trump ally trying to toe the line. Although there’s still no evidence of widespread fraud, Perdue is going further now than he did then — for the obvious reason that he needs to win a primary to win an election. (Kemp has a healthy lead in a new poll released by AJC on Tuesday morning — 53-27 — which suggests Perdue needs to do what he can to knock...
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