ATLANTA — Donald Trump will headline a rally in Georgia this month to try to turn the tide of the election against Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans he has vowed to unseat.
The former president will headline a March 26 in Commerce event to boost Perdue and other GOP candidates he’s endorsed as part of an ongoing vendetta against state leaders who refused his attempt to illegally overturn the election, according to several GOP officials with knowledge of the decision.
It’s part of an ongoing effort by Trump to ratchet up his support for his growing slate of Georgia candidates.
That list includes U.S. Rep. Jody Hice’s campaign to oust Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Herschel Walker for the U.S. Senate, state Sen. Burt Jones for lieutenant governor and Vernon Jones for an open U.S. House race.
Trump also will hold fundraisers at his Mar-a-Lago resort next week for Perdue and Vernon Jones, the ex-Democrat who dropped out of the race for governor at the former president’s urging to run for a rural congressional seat.
Perdue’s insurgent challenge hinges on Trump’s support. He invokes the former president at the start of every campaign stop and echoes his falsehoods about widespread election fraud.
Trump filmed a direct-to-camera TV spot for Perdue that’s now airing statewide. And Donald Trump Jr. completed a statewide swing this week to boost the former senator’s campaign.
There’s plenty of reason for Trump to step up his commitment. Perdue’s campaign serves as one of the marquee tests of his influence, and he has vowed to defeat Kemp after the governor refused his demands to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump’s show of support for Perdue comes amid setbacks in his bid to unseat the governor.
Several recent public polls show Perdue in a bind, including a Trafalgar Group survey released this week that pegged Kemp with a 49% to 40% edge over his challenger. But in a bright spot for Perdue, the same poll showed that nearly 40% of GOP voters aren’t aware of Trump’s endorsement.
Kemp has built an enormous fundraising advantage over Perdue, who reported less than $900,000 in his campaign account earlier this month and has yet to pump his own money into his campaign. The governor, by contrast, had a war chest of nearly $13 million.
For the first time in its history, the Republican Governors Association has launched ads for an incumbent battling a GOP primary challenge, with a slate of TV spots this month that promote Kemp.
And Kemp is leveraging the raw powers of his office to counter Perdue, including recent moves to appoint a protégé of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the state’s highest bench and clear the way for Sonny Perdue — David’s first-cousin — to lead the higher education system.
In a statement, David Perdue emphasized the pivotal role that Trump’s endorsement has played in his campaign.
“Georgians are ready for a bold conservative who will fight the political establishment, instead of caving to radical liberals like Brian Kemp has done every step of the way,” he said.
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