Support for former Georgia Sen. David Perdue in Georgia’s 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary soared after he was endorsed by President Trump.
According to a poll from InsiderAdvantage, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp was ahead of Perdue by double-digits in a hypothetical primary election (41 percent to 22 percent). After those polled were then told that Perdue had Trump’s endorsement, Perdue’s support increased 12 points, while Kemp’s dropped seven points.
This poll shows the impact that Trump’s endorsement can have for a political candidate, affirming he has a firm grip on the party, and that his simple endorsement can make or break someone’s political career.
“In this many year’s of polling, I have never seen any other individual endorsement move as many points in a single survey,” said Chairman of InsiderAdvantage Matt Towery, whose organization conducted the poll. “There have been some instances where I encountered substantial movement based on an endorsement in a Democratic primary by former President Obama, but never to this extent.”
Towery also added that the InsiderAdvantage poll should be seen as a “wakeup call to national GOP leaders and candidates” over Trump’s clout on the party.
Perdue announced his primary challenge against Kemp on Monday, saying that Kemp “caved” to Democrat Stacey Abrams and cost Republicans “two Senate seats, the Senate majority, and gave Joe Biden free reign.”
“Think about how different it would be today if Kemp had fought Abrams instead of fighting Trump. Kemp caved before the election, and the country is paying the price today,” Perdue said in his campaign announcement.
Trump supported Kemp’s bid for governor in 2018, but he has now vowed to help unseat him after the governor turned his back to the election discrepancies that reportedly took place in Georgia’s 2020 presidential race.
Trump endorsed the former senator hours after he announced his gubernatorial bid, saying that Kemp has “failed” Georgia. Trump has repeatedly called out Kemp and other Republicans who failed to address the election discrepancies that took place in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump has vowed to make frequent campaign stops throughout Georgia and campaign against Kemp, who is rapidly losing support, in next year’s gubernatorial race. As Trump campaigns on behalf of Perdue and attacks Kemp, support for Perdue will likely increase even more, and the current governor will be more likely to not survive the primaries.
The Georgia GOP nominee will likely face off against Democrat Stacey Abrams in November 2022.