Former Republican Senator and current Georgia gubernatorial primary candidate David Perdue said his potential opponent, Democrat Stacey Abrams, was "demeaning her own race" after comments she made about the state's inability to care for the sick and needy.
Mr Perdue — who lost his Senate race in 2021 to Democrat John Ossoff — said Ms Abrams should "go back where she came from" after she said Georgia was the "worst state" to live in, at least in its present condition.
"She said that Georgia is the worst place in the country to live. Hey, she ain't from here," he said during an interview on the John Fredericks radio show. "Let her go back to where she came from. She doesn't like it here."
Republicans leapt onto Ms Abrams comments hoping to use them to hobble her heading into the state's primaries.
When taken in context, Ms Abrams' comment was clearly a criticism of its friendliness towards business at the expense of providing services for its people.
"I am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live," she said. "When you're No. 48 for mental, when you're No. 1 for maternal mortality, when you have an incarceration rate that's on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you are not the No. 1 place to live in the United States."
She went on to say that the state can "get there" if she's elected.
"You see, Georgia is capable of greatness. We just need greatness to be in our governor's office," she said.
Mr Perdue claimed that Ms Abrams is simply using Georgia as a stepping stone to get to the White House.
"The only thing she wants is to be president of the United States. She doesn't care about the people of Georgia," he said. "She should never be considered material for governor of any state, much less our state where she hates to live."
Ms Abrams was considered an instrumental part of the success Democrats saw in Georgia in 2021. Both Mr Perdue and former Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler were beaten in 2021, which handed control of the Senate over to the Democrats. Ms Abrams was a booster of their opponents and saw success fundraising for Democrats in the state.
She became a target of Republican ire after she lost her first gubernatorial run in 2018 and refused to concede, citing voter suppression tactics she claims Republicans used to thwart her campaign.
“So, let’s be clear – this is not a speech of concession, because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper,” she said at the time. “As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that. But, my assessment is the law currently allows no further viable remedy.”
The Republican incumbent, Governor Brian Kemp, claimed a battle against Ms Abrams would be one for the "soul of our state," but Ms Abrams is not the only potential candidate he has to worry about. Former President Donald Trump hates Mr Kemp and has, up until last week, backed Mr Perdue.
Mr Trump has been furious at Mr Kemp since the 2020 election, blaming Mr Kemp for failing to "find enough votes" to flip Georgia's election. He went so far as to facetiously back Ms Abrams over Mr Kemp.
“Stacey, would you like to take his place? It’s OK with me,” he said during a speech in Georgia. “Of course having her, I think, might be better than having your existing governor, if you want to know what I think. Might very well be better.”
