In a surprising twist heading into a heated 2022 midterm election season, Republican candidate for Georgia governor, Vernon Jones, has withdrawn his candidacy and endorsed his GOP opponent, David Perdue.
Jones, who was formerly a member of the GA House of Representatives until 2021, was also the former Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County, GA, according to an official press release from his office.
Further, Jones was also once a registered Democrat until he switched parties in 2021, following his endorsement of President Donald Trump in a speech given at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Jones, who was running against Trump-endorsed candidate David Purdue, had his work cut out for him. Usually, candidates who obtain an endorsement from the 45th president rocket to victory, which would have made Jones’ campaign much more difficult.
“After much prayer & consideration I have decided that I can best serve the people of Georgia in the Congress of the United States,” Jones said in his official statement on Monday. He added, “I am officially withdrawing my candidacy for Governor effective today and will be supporting David Perdue for Governor. He is a good man who loves our state and loves our Country.”
Additionally, President Trump has strongly lent his support for Perdue’s campaign as the midterm season tightens up. “David Perdue is an outstanding man,” Trump said in an official endorsement commercial in February. Trump continued, “He’s tough, he’s smart, he has my complete and total endorsement. Vote for David Perdue.”
Perdue has gained popularity among conservatives for his strong stance against mask mandates and coronavirus regulations. In fact, his new Twitter cover photo states: “UNMASK OUR KIDS.” Clearly, Perdue is in touch with what voters want for their children. In what could prove to be a parallel, one of the reasons why Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., rocketed to victory in November 2021 was because of the parents who flooded Virginia polls and voted for Youngkin’s strong stances on protecting children from governmental overreach and attacking Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools.
With Vernon Jones out of the Georgia race for governor, the road ahead is clear for David Perdue to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp, who is up for reelection this year.
